Ginny, Hermione and the Half Blood Prince
by mokimik
Summary: Because we already know what Harry did during his 6th year, and Ron did do nothing but snog: It's time for a girl-view on Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince. Find out what Hermione and Ginny have on their mind during the events of the 6th book!
1. About hexing and inviting

_hey there! I'm back! This story has been on my computer for a while now: I wrote it during my exams last May, when I had to study, but instead wrote thisXD _

_Anyway, it's not even finished, but there are already 45 chapters on my computer, so I thought it would be time to start posting! I think I will post once a week:)_

_Huge thanks to beta-Lisa!_

_ow, and I'm just the child, playing in JK's playground... thanks for the swing mrs. Rowling!_

_**1. About hexing and inviting**_

_-The road to truth is long, and lined the entire way with annoying bastards.-_

_Alexander Jablokov_

"Hey Ginny, wait!"

Ginny sighed. She had tried to ignore Zacharias Smith's furious waving, but apparently he had found another way to get her attention: shouting her name down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express. Ginny knew exactly why he had been trying to get her attention: to ask her about the same things that Terry Boot, Seamus Finnigan and Colin Creevy had already asked about. She turned around and indeed, Smith was walking down the corridor of the train, straight toward her. This really was not her lucky day. She had hated the guy ever since he had been so sceptical about Harry last year.

"Hi, Zacharias. How was your summer?" she asked politely.

"It was fine, it was fine," he said quickly. "Listen, I was reading the Daily Prophet this summer," (so he _can _read, Ginny thought) and every day there were at least two wild stories about what happened in the Ministry!"

The boy hadn't even tried to be polite. At least Terry Boot had had the manners to ask about her summer first.

"Yeah, I read some of the articles too," she said vaguely, hoping he would get the signal that she didn't want to talk about it. However, he did, not.

"So tell me, D.A. member to D.A. member," he grinned and looked very smug, "what _did_ happen that night?"

Ginny shrugged. "Not much. The paper's making a bit of a sensation out of it when there's really not much to tell. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to get—"

"Come on, we both know that isn't true." He waggled his eyebrows. "What about that whole Chosen One thing? Is that made up as well?"

Ginny suddenly noticed how loudly Smith was talking and saw, much to her horror, that there were actually a lot of people trying to listen in on the conversation.

"Look, personally, I think that's crap," she lied. "But even if it was true – it's still none of our business, is it?"

"Of course it is!" He was blocking the entire corridor, and Ginny was getting more frustrated by the second. She had expected that Harry, Ron and Hermione would be harassed like this but had completely forgotten that people might pester her as well.

"Harry is the leader of the D.A. – how can we not be involved?"

"Since Umbridge is gone, I'm not sure there's any point in having the D.A. again. Hopefully we'll get some proper education in Defence this year." She was only parroting Hermione now, although that seemed to be the safest way around the question.

"Oh. But still – you'd know, right? Your brother is his best friend! It's no secret that he spends most of the holidays at your house – those Muggles seem to be disgusted by him."

Something about Smith's smug tone was making her blood boil. He really needed to get out of her way.

"No, I don't know anything about it, I just told you! Now will you please let me by? My boyfriend is waiting for me." She tried to edge by him, but he still blocked her path.

"So you didn't hear anything about a prophecy?" he asked hopefully. Ginny drew her wand. "Nothing about You-Know-Who actually being there? You did see Death Eaters, didn't you?" Smith was definitely trying her patience, but the next thing he said made Ginny furious.

"I heard Harry was a mess when he came back to school. Blood everywhere, and didn't his godfather die or something? Maybe he really is as mental as the Prophet said he was. Of course he's always been a mess, don't you —"

Before he had even finished his sentence, at least fifty bats had fought their way out of his nose, all attacking him with their wings and biting him where they could. He started to scream, but suddenly, everyone around them was busy with something else besides eavesdropping, all pretending they hadn't been trying to listen only a few moments ago.

But Ginny didn't mind their hypocrisy. She was looking at Smith with some satisfaction. A summer without magic (all right, without _some_ magic) always made her forget how good her Bat-Bogey Hex was, especially when she was angry.

"Oho! That's not so nice, young lady!"

Her feeling of triumph disappeared when she heard a voice – a deep, teacher-like voice – behind her. She turned around.

"I'm sorry sir, but he wouldn't stop." Smith was still shouting and swatting at the bats. Ginny felt more uncomfortable with every passing second, but to her surprise, the old fat man began to laugh.

"I haven't seen such a good hex for a long time, my dear! Tell me, was there a proper reason as to why you hexed this lad?"

It wasn't often that one could catch Ginny Weasley looking completely baffled, but this was one of those moments.

"He was mocking Harry, sir."

The man's eyes bulged slightly.

"Harry? Not Harry Potter, the Chosen One? Who defeated You-Know-Who?" Ginny was annoyed that the man came to the same conclusions as Smith had, but she swallowed and nodded. It was weird, but somehow, the heroic sound Harry's name made when the fat man said it didn't fit with the Harry she knew.

"Yes, that's him."

"Are you friends with him, my dear?"

"Yes, sir."

"So may I conclude that not only is your spell-work is fabulous, but you're also close friends with Harry Potter?"

Ginny shifted a bit, and answered truthfully, "Well, I'm not sure that we're really close, but we get along. He's better friends with my brother, and he spent some time at our house over the summer holidays."

"I bet he can get along with a lot of people," Slughorn said, looking at her as if to be sure that Ginny had both her arms in the right place. Then, he shook his head. "But forgive my rudeness – I've not introduced myself. Horace Slughorn, or Professor Slughorn as of tomorrow." He held out his hand and Ginny took it, a bit unsure.

"Ginny Weasley, sir."

"Lovely to meet you, Miss Weasely. I will hold a small gathering in my compartment in about half an hour. There will be some food and refreshments. Would you care to come?"

She had promised Dean that she would be back soon, and even without looking at her watch, she knew that twenty minutes had already passed by since she had left to go to the toilet. But on the other hand, this man could easily have gotten her into trouble and yet had now invited her to eat in his compartment with other students. It would seem quite rude not to accept.

"Well, I'd love to, sir."

"Splendid, splendid! Oho! If you aren't the only one with such great magical abilities, I'll bet that teaching again won't be such a pain after all!"

As Ginny walked away, she looked back over one shoulder. Zacharias Smith was still on his knees, slapping at his head, but between the wings and the hands, Ginny could see an expression of utter surprise that she had gotten away with hexing him.

"Who's a mess now?" she mumbled softly, and grinned.

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_Liked it?? or was it the worst opening chapter ever? Well, let me know!_

_reviews equal chocolate: they make everybody happy:)_


	2. About talking and boring

_huge thanks to my beta-friend Lisa!_

_I'm just Charlie when JK is mr. Wonko from the Chocolatefactory_

**2. About talking and boring**

-All kinds are good except the kind that bores you.-

_Voltaire_

It could be said that Horace Slughorn knew a lot of famous people and was eager to tell everyone about this fact.

It could also be said that Ginny Weasely had never judged or liked people based on their social contacts or lack thereof. Therefore, even a first-year could conclude that Ginny wasn't enjoying herself very much. Or, in other words: Slughorn was boring her to death. Slughorn himself, however, didn't seem to notice anything.

"…and then of couse I introduced him to the captain of the Wasps, where he was accepted right away. They hadn't even seen him fly!"

Ginny raised her eyebrows, quasi-surprised, and made sure she was smiling when Slughorn looked her way. She felt like a hypocrite for doing so, but this man was a teacher and could make it a bit difficult for her if she was rude to him before the term had even officially started. She really wished Dean was here…or anyone else, for that matter, if only for the sake of keeping her company.

Then someone knocked at the compartment door, and it slid open. It was as if fate had purposely misinterpreted her wish – someone entered, but it wasn't one of the people Ginny had meant when she'd wished for someone to keep her company. It was Blaise Zabini, looking smugger than ever and a smile plastered on his face. (_It was weird to see a Slytherin smile_, Ginny thought. There weren't many occasions in which a Slytherin would smile when she was around. Especially not after she had mastered that Bat Bogey Hex.)

"Hello professor."

"Blaise, m'boy!" Slughorn said enthusiastically. "Come in, come in. You are the first one who has responded to my invitation. Miss Weasely here wasn't formally asked for this dinner, but after seeing her spell work, I couldn't help myself! Have you two met before?"

Blaise's smile disappeared for a moment, but when Slughorn turned back to him, he plastered the fake smile back on and said, "Only in the corridors, sir."

"Yes, and lucky for you," Ginny mumbled with her teeth clenched. She hadn't forgotten how Blaise and some other Slytherins had made Hogwarts a living hell with their Inquisitorial squad the previous year

"Oho, it is indeed lucky for you, Mr. Zabini! You would not want this girl as your enemy. Well, let's not wait for the other ones to eat, shall we?" He grabbed one of the trunks out of the luggage net and opened it. With a poof of red smoke, the trunk opened and revealed as what looked like huge parts of a Hogwarts feast.

But eating what could only be described as one of the best scones in Great Britain didn't lessen Ginny's uncomfortable feelings. She had begged fate to bring some other nice people, but fate had played a cruel joke again; it seemed as if Slughorn had only invited the most cocky (and somehow related to famous people) students to his gathering. But when Slughorn was busy with his third story about another famous Quidditch player he knew, however, fate seemed to be a bit bored too, because now it actually brought some interesting people.

Neville and Harry entered, and Ginny had to wonder which one looked more uncomfortable. Slughorn looked at them (especially Harry) as if Christmas had come early this year, and started to introduce everyone to them. Ginny, having heard at this point far too many introductions to count and already knowing the people in question, zoned out, and was looking out the window. She wondered if Hermione was right about the DA. Sure, they had only done it to annoy Umbridge, but she was sure that Harry had enjoyed teaching them as much as she had enjoyed learning from him. It wasn't every day she got the chance to conjure a Patronus on her third attempt.

"— and _this_ charming young lady tells me she knows you!" She heard Slughorn saying and looked up, to see Neville's uncertain face and Harry's bemused one. Harry looked as though he might be laughing at her. She pulled a face, wondering if he would be laughing once he realized how boring this whole thing was. When Harry and Neville had seated themselves, Slughorn went back to his food, asking everyone questions all the while. Ginny listened with half an ear: apparently, Zabini had a famous mother whose wealthy husbands tended to die rather mysteriously, and McLaggen's uncle was friends with the Minister. It was inevitable that Slughorn would eventually turn to Neville, and when he did, she could not help but feel extremely sorry for Neville, who was being forced to explain to a bunch of people he didn't know that his parents were insane and incapable of remembering his name.

"Did they ever tell you that I taught them both?"

Ginny couldn't help but snort indignantly. She had "met" Neville's mother herself, if that term could be used when the poor woman hadn't even been aware of her. Considering that Mrs. Longbottom and her husband had been tortured into that condition when Neville was quite young, she doubted very much that Slughorn had ever come up in conversation. But before she could even dare to make a remark about it, she felt an elbow in her ribs, demanding she be quiet. She looked at Harry, but besides the frown visible between his eyebrows, he didn't show any emotion. Slughorn, in the meantime, went on.

"Oh, yes, they were exceptional, exceptional! I introduced your father to the Head of the Auror Department, and the rest you of course know that they went on to become quite famous!"

Neville shifted about as though trying to escape Slughorn's hungry gaze. Ginny had been lucky enough to grow up with a family that was whole, but she would gladly share it with the shy boy sitting in front of her.

Fortunately, after ten excruciating moments, Slughorn turned to Harry. Ginny looked at the boy next to her, whose expression was closed, as if he was building a shield around himself. She shot a smile at him and instantly knew that Slughorn would have quite a task getting information out of Harry.

_liked it? Please tell me! _

_reviews are like the sun- they brighten up my day :P_

_Next chappie is about Hermione! To see how she copes with her hormones..._


	3. About asking and falling

_HUGE thanks to beta-friend Lisa!..._

_I'm just the toddler eating the paste JK gave me: it's highly addictive btw..._

**3. about asking and falling**

-Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.-

_Mark Twain _

"Well, if everyone is clear on their duties, then the meeting is dismissed!" Cameron said. She beamed at the prefects sitting around her as they all stood up.

"Thank God. I thought it would never end," Hermione heard Ron whisper by her ear. She tried to give him a stern glance, but it only half worked, as Ron was standing far too close for her to feel stern at all. She hated and loved it at the same time when he did that. It gave her an oddly fuzzy feeling.

"What? Am I wrong? We heard everything she said last year when Katie was Head Girl, and most of it we could assume, because it's all stuff that prefects are obviously supposed to do."

They walked out of the compartment together. Hermione didn't answer him, still enjoying that fuzzy feeling in her knees.

"Hey! Say something!" he grinned, taking her arm. "You've been awfully quiet since we got on the train. I'm not going to do rounds with you if you're not going to say anything!"

She laughed.

"I'm sorry, I was listening to what the Heads had to say, not sighing and making remarks about how it would be useful to serve food in the prefect compartment."

"Well, they should. Or at least let the lady with the trolley come in, instead of telling her to move along, 'because we have better things to do.'"

Hermione laughed as Ron spoke that last part in the same tone as Richard Pratt, this year's Head Boy. Ron kept talking, and Hermione let him, only half hearing what he said. She liked it this way. No offence to Harry, but Ron was the one she could really laugh with. And she needed that, especially when the world around her, Harry included, was becoming darker and more serious every day.

"They stop in Hogsmeade! The least they could do before picking us up from London is get some stuff for the prefects' carriage from Honeydukes!"

"I don't think they can afford to do that," she interrupted.

"Of course they can! I feel like a servant, constantly giving up my free time to patrol the halls and corridors," Ron looked at her warningly, because she had already opened her mouth to reprove him. "And don't you dare to say that it'll make me better understand the plight of the house elves! They like working, and it's far different from what prefects do!"

"Well, you should consider yourself lucky! Those few hours you have to spend patrolling is nothing compared to life-long slavery like they have!"

Ron only shook his head, but then looked up, and suddenly opened a compartment door.

"Oi, you! If you don't let him alone right now, I will make sure your Head of House knows about this! And give him his toad back!" The three third-year Slytherins froze and stopped taunting the first-year in the middle of the compartment. One of them threw the toad at the first year, who, upon catching it, quickly gathered his belongings and left the compartment, shuffling off quickly in the opposite direction.

But she paid hardly any attention to the poor boy; mentally, she was kicking herself for being too in awe of the guy next to her to patrol the corridors as she was supposed to. She should have seen what was going on. Ron didn't notice her mental turmoil, and only leaned in closer on her, to say in a hushed voice: "I'm glad they listened, I wasn't too keen on the idea of sending Snape a letter."

Even though it could barely be called a joke, Hermione could do nothing but giggle. Since when had she been such a girly-girl?

"They're just third years, they still have respect for authority," she said, hoping she sounded dignified, but somehow, it still came out as if she was… no, it wasn't flirting, was it?

"Yeah… I mean, third-years…. They think they can get away with anything, since they get to go to Hogsmeade, but on the inside they're still…well…scared…"

She nodded.

"But you're remembering how we felt as third-years. We were certainly scared, but maybe that was because when we got to Hogsmeade the first time, dementors were swarming everywhere."

Ron grinned.

"Still, we had fun, hadn't we? I mean, the first time we went to Hogsmeade was the time we went without Harry."

"I think it was the only full day we were without him and didn't fight," she added jokingly, but to her surprise, Ron barely laughed and only nodded.

"Let's do that again," he suddenly blurted out.

For a moment, she didn't understand what he was talking about. "What? Not fight when Harry's not around? Well, I think we're doing pretty well. I didn't want to kill you over summer before he came."

"No." Something in the way he said it made her glance at him, and she could tell, even in the odd light of the corridor, that his ears were a blazing shade of red. "Go to Hogsmeade together. Alone. Without Harry," he added, to be completely sure that she got his point.

But she had gotten it already and was sure her knees would collapse at any moment.

"I would love to," she said softly, half hoping he wouldn't hear her. The sudden grin on his face told her otherwise.

Her thought process, formerly more sluggish than usual, suddenly sped up to double time. The first weekend would probably be over Halloween. Most likely… but how to get rid of Harry? Or would he get the hints that they didn't want him there? Probably not; he tended to be oblivious when confronted with these sorts of things. Maybe she could convince Ginny to take Harry along with her and Dean… No…best not to ask. Luna, then? Or, even better, perhaps they could sneak out before Halloween. After all, although being Harry's friend sometimes led them straight into danger, it also gave them access to a certain cloak and map.

Ron was deep in conversation with an unknown Hufflepuff who probably wanted to know what had happened in June, just like the prefects and the other people who had been interrogating them, but Hermione barely noticed, still deep in thought.

Suddenly, the train made a sharp turn, and Hermione lost her balance, stumbling backwards. Waving her hands in the air, she suddenly felt something solid. Her hands reflexively tightened around it and started to take it down with her.

"Whoah!" Ron shouted and suddenly, she felt a hand on her back. Looking up, she saw that one of her hands had grabbed Ron's shirt very hard and was still fisted in it. He'd caught her before she'd managed to fall, and now held her almost although they'd been dancing and stopped as he was leaning her backward. Though they were standing in the middle of a loud corridor on a train, Hermione swore that everything went silent for a moment when she looked up and met the sky-blue eyes that were staring at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could just see the Hufflepuff, eyebrows raised.

In less than a second, she was standing again. Ron's ears were more crimson than ever. However, it felt like it took more than a minute for the both of them to let each other go. When they did, however, Hermione was more flustered than before, and she looked at her watch.

"We…uh…we should get back. Our shift is over."

"What? Oh, uh, yeah…let's go back."

Looking back, Hermione realised that she wouldn't hear Ron complaining about patrolling and wasting his time with prefect duties for quite a while.

_well... normally, i don't write Hermione so...well.. girly, but as she herself said it in this chapter: she's not quite herself with Ron in the vincinity..._

_let me know what your thoughts were! I already gave mine here!_


	4. About disappearing and wondering

_I'm just Fred and George compared to JK's work--joking, as always_

_btw, r.i.p. Fred... and huge thanks to beta-er, Lisa_

**4. (about disappearing and wondering) **

-The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvellous structure of reality.-

_Albert Einstein_

Everyone in the compartment besides Neville and herself was staring at Harry as though he was some odd species of animal Hagrid had brought in for their lesson.

When Harry didn't answer Slughorn's comment about his new nickname, (honestly, the Chosen One? People needed to stop reading old legends if they couldn't come up with something more original than that), Slughorn tried it another way.

"Of course, there have been rumours for years…. I remember – well – after that _terrible_ night – Lily – James —"

Harry's eye twitched slightly at the mention of his parents, though the rest of his face stayed motionless.

"— and you survived —" Another long pause followed, but Harry still didn't say anything. She wondered how many times Harry had had people trying to figure out what had happened the night his parents died. And didn't it make him sick to hear the story again? Ginny felt like she might be sick herself, and there was no way she'd heard the story as often as he had.

"— And the word was that you must have powers beyond the ordinary —"

A snort disguised as a cough was audible from Zabini, and before Ginny could control herself, her temper was already lost.

"Yeah, Zabini, because _you're_ so talented…at posing…" She felt several pairs of eyes fasten on her. Part of her really wished she had not made that remark; after all, she was in front of a teacher. But another huge part of her was actually pretty pleased with herself, because she had been witty – especially when she saw Harry's answering grin.

Zabini looked angry, but it didn't make him look any better than he usually did.

"Oh dear! You want to be careful, Blaise! I saw this young lady perform the most marvellous Bat-Bogey Hex as I was passing her carriage! I wouldn't cross her! Anyway —"

His eyes went back to Harry. Ginny became infinitely more annoyed – Slughorn clearly did not understand that Harry was not about to say anything.

She shot a glance at Neville, who looked at her and nodded. They were thinking the same thing. Even though Slughorn was a teacher, he was just fishing for information. Their friend needed to be rescued from this bugger.

"So modest, so modest, no wonder Dumbledore is so fond – you _were_ there, then? But the rest of the stories – so sensational of course, one doesn't know quite what to believe —"

Ginny suppressed a sigh with difficulty.

"— This fabled prophecy, for instance —"

"We never heard a prophecy," Neville pointed out.

"That's right," Ginny said. "Neville and I were both there too, and all this 'Chosen One' rubbish is just the _Prophet_ making things up as usual." Neville shot her a grateful glance for taking over, but she thought she might have handled it with more tact, because now, the attention was on them too.

"You were both there too, were you?" Ginny nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. Maybe Harry's tactic was the best. Just nodding and saying nothing. It seemed to work: Slughorn was clearly disappointed, but then began to waffle on about the Holyhead Harpies.

She looked at Harry, who was looking out of the window, a little smile playing about his lips. She nudged him, and sat a bit more upright, to whisper in his ear:

"My entire collection of Chocolate Frog cards if you can make us disappear from here."

But he just smiled and shook his head.

"He saw me hex Zacharias Smith. You remember that idiot from Hufflepuff who was in the D.A.? He kept on and on asking about what happened at the Ministry and in the end he annoyed me so much I hexed him – when Slughorn came in I thought I was going to get detention, but he just thought it was a really good hex and invited me to lunch! Mad, eh?"

Both boys nodded.

"Better reason for inviting than because of their mother's famous, or because their uncle —" Ginny was nodding along, but Harry broke off and was suddenly staring at the back of Zabini's head.

"Their uncle's what, Harry?" Neville asked, but Harry seemed to be on an entirely different planet.

"I see you two later," he said quite suddenly. Neville shot a bewildered glance at Ginny, but even she, though she knew more about Harry's quirks, she also was quite confused about what was happening.

"But what're you – ?" Neville spluttered, but Harry barely seemed to hear him. He pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and whispered, "Later!" then walked away from them, after Zabini.

"Huh? What was that all about?" Neville asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he had a brain wave or something."

"Or a Wrackspurt got him," Neville mumbled.

"A what?"

"Oh, haven't you heard?" He asked, suddenly amused. "According to Luna, they float through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy."

Ginny forgot for a moment that she was worried about Harry and laughed out loud.

"Luna's a bit mad, but she's friendly, and most of the time she's a quite a good listener." Neville nodded in agreement and they kept walking down the corridor. When they came to Dean's compartment, she said goodbye, and walked in. Seamus was playing Exploding Snap with Evelyn, one of the girls in Ginny's year and a good friend of hers, while Parvati and Lavender were both reading their horoscopes.

"Hey," Dean said, after she kissed him. "Where've you been? We're almost to Hogwarts!"

"Eh, bit of a long story. I met the new professor – he was having a gathering in his compartment and invited me along."

Dean's eyebrow lifted sceptically, and Ginny couldn't blame him for not completely believing her. She let him pull her into his lap, and he whispered, "Well, don't stay away so long next time. I really missed you and we have catching up to do since you couldn't come over this summer."

She nodded, wrapping herself up in his arms and kissing him again. She liked Dean just for being so….protective and safe. But just as the kiss was about to turn into a snogfest that they hadn't had since June, she stopped them. Something was bothering her a lot.

"Er… you know, I put some of my books into Hermione's trunk, because I didn't have any space left in mine. But I have to get them back, because I won't see her until tomorrow, and then classes will have already started." Dean looked disappointed when she climbed out of his lap, and Evelyn looked away from the tower she and Seamus had built from the Exploding Cards to give her a questioning look.

"Do you have to get them now?" her boyfriend asked, refusing to let her go.

"Yeah, I sort of promised. If we arrive at Hogsmeade while I'm in the other compartment, will you take my belongings, Eve?"

Evelyn nodded and turned back to the game, while Ginny gave Dean a peck on the nose and left. She heard the tower of cards explode the moment she closed the door, but didn't bother to look back.

She had to know if Ron of Hermione had an explanation for Harry's sudden weird behaviour.

----

_If I were Tonks, my haircolour would be the brightest pink after the reviews!_

_Next up: Ginny..._


	5. About analizing and departing

I'm just providing the sheets for the bed and the matress that JK made.

**5. (****About Analyzing and Departing)**

-Thinking: The talking of the soul with itself.-

_Plato_

"Hey everyone!" Ginny popped her head into her brother's compartment. All it took was one glance to see that one person was still missing.

"Hey Ginny! Shouldn't you be with Dean? All your belongings are there and the train is going to stop any moment now."

"Yeah, I just came by to say hey to everyone." When Hermione looked sceptical (which she had a perfectly legitimate right to do, since Ginny had seen all of them on the platform), she admitted: "And to check if Harry's back yet. Did Neville tell you?"

Neville, in the corner by the window, nodded, his brow furrowed. "Yes, I told them about how he disappeared after Zabini, but there's no sign of him yet."

"I hope one of the Tentadracsels hasn't got him. They're invisible, you know, and they like to hunt things and eat them alive," Luna said, her face just as worried as Neville's.

"There are no such things as Tentadracsels," Hermione spluttered, while Ron was barely even trying to hide his laugh.

Luna didn't bother to protest. Ginny took advantage of the silence to think for a moment. Why did she have such a bad feeling about this? Harry had pulled these kinds of stunts more than once, and every time he came out all right, didn't he? Besides, he was a year older and probably knew exactly what he was doing. Why did she worry so much?

"There's never been any proof of the existence of the Crumple Horned whatever."

"Well, there hasn't been proof that Crumple Horned Snorkacks don't exist either," Luna said in a dreamy voice, then turned a page of the Quibbler and read on, leaving Hermione in the middle of a one-sided argument, spluttering.

"Anyway, Ginny, why do you care? Harry can take care of himself," Ron said, diverting Ginny's attention.

"I don't know…he was just acting oddly, I guess. I mean, he stopped talking halfway through a sentence and stared off into the distance... and then he just disappeared."

"Why do I have a feeling this has something to do with his new theory?" Hermione muttered darkly, rolling her eyes.

"New theory?" Even Luna looked up interestedly

"Yeah, but don't get too excited, it's really ridiculous."

"That's what a lot of people say about the Crumple Horned Snorkack," Luna defended. Hermione looked as though she was refraining from making some sort of comeback only with great difficulty. Ginny had to fight to hide a laugh.

"Harry thinks Malfoy's joined the Death Eaters," Ron said.

The compartment fell silent. For a moment, Ginny didn't know what to think. Harry had had a lot of theories that had turned to be true over the last few years, but somehow, the only thing she could do now was shake her head. Malfoy wasn't an adult; he wasn't even finished with school. What was Harry thinking?

Before she could put this question to any of the others, the train began to slow down, finally stopping at the little train station in Hogsmeade. The Hogwarts Express was suddenly a chaotic mass of people grabbing their belongings, lifting their trunks out of compartments and soothing their animals.

"I'll have to go back to grab my things. See you guys later," Ginny said to Hermione, who seemed to be more occupied with getting Crookshanks back into his basket.

But finding Dean and the others turned out to be a lot harder then she'd thought. People were swarming in the corridors like bees, all trying to go in different directions, and mostly holding heavy trunks. Slowly, she fought her way back to her compartment, only to find that the rest hadn't waited for her, and were probably already off the train. A bit annoyed, she shrugged; at least they had taken her trunk off the train with them. The noise in the corridors slowly subsided, and she walked back into the corridor. That is, until someone pushed her very hard on the back, and she fell.

"Oi! Watch it, will you?" she said, standing back up, only to realise that she oughtn't to expect apologies from this quarter: Blaise Zabini walked by, laughing at her.

Her wand had fallen, and she was just bending down to pick it up when something odd caught her eye. In one of the compartments further down into the corridor, a boy with blond hair closed the blinds. Ginny could swear for a moment that it had been Malfoy, but then she shook her head, and scolded herself. Just because she had heard a wild theory a few minutes ago didn't mean that every blond boy was Malfoy, out to do You-Know-Who's bidding.

Turning around, she walked off the train.

"Ginny! Over here!" Dean waved at her from across the platform.

"Hi! I saw you already took my stuff?" she asked, dodging his kiss playfully.

"Yeah, it took too long to wait for you on the train." His voice sounded accusing, but when Ginny's head shot up to look him in the eyes, she couldn't find a trace of anger on his face.

"Wotcher, Ginny!" An all-too-familiar greeting rand in her ears and she turned around.

"Tonks! What are you doing here?"

"Keeping an eye out," she said vaguely. Ginny was actually a bit shocked by the way the Auror looked. She had gotten thinner, and even though Ginny had seen Tonks with that mousy-brown hair all summer, it still seemed out of place.

"Have you seen Harry?" Tonks asked. Ginny shook her head.

"Last time I saw him, he was on the train."

"Better go check to see if the train's empty, then. Have a nice term, I'll see you around," the woman said hastily, and then boarded the train.

"Isn't that one of the Aurors who's guarding the school this year? How does she know your name?" Dean asked.

"Oh, she used to date Bill," Ginny said quickly. For a moment she wondered how she'd come up with such a quick lie. Maybe Mum was right; Tonks and Bill wouldn't be such a strange combination, and not because neither she nor her mum were all that fond of Phlegm.

"And you're still in touch with her?"

"Well, what's in touch? I bump into her from time to time," she said. They watched as the train puffed out huge clouds of steam, preparing to make the journey back to London.

"Let's get going, we put our stuff in that carriage." He took her hand, and Ginny slowly turned around. For a moment, she wondered if Tonks would be going back to London with the Hogwarts Express, but then she remembered that Dean had said that Tonks would be guarding the school. She followed Dean to one of the last carriages in the line, and felt a weird feeling settling in her stomach. Why would Tonks check out the compartments? It didn't sound like a thing an Auror would do. But then again, there was a war on; of course Tonks would double-check everything. Why was it that every time her brother and his friends came up with a theory, she was the one who would start thinking it to death?

_The 5th Chapter already! Thanks to Lisa, my Beta!_

_Also HUGE THANKS to those who've added me to their story-alert and/or favorites-lists! I hope you guys will still follow it by the time we reach number 50! (which I have actally already written!)_

_I would like to have some feedback! What do you like about the story? And what do you think that needs improvement? Oh, and more importantly, who do you think I write better and more true to the books? Hermine-chapters or Ginny-chapters??_

_Tell you what- 10 reviews before Friday and I promise that I will update sooner- like... Saturday, or maybe even that Friday itself...and if there are some great revews, I promise to mention them, and also update with 2 instead of 1 chapter per week!_

_Remember- reviews are like books-you can never have too much of them!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	6. About worrying and surprising

_Writing fanfiction is just like playing Chess against the worldchampion: completely for the fun of playing, absolutely not for glory or money and only to improve my own style_

**6. (****About Worrying and Surprising)**

-Worry is like a rocking chair--it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.-

_A__nonymous_

Hermione could swear that the ride from the station to the castle had never been this long. Craning her neck, she tried to see who was sitting in the carriage in front of them, but darkness had already fallen, and she couldn't see much of everything.

"Will you stop doing that?" Ron muttered nervously next to her.

"I will if you tell me where Harry is," came her snappy hissed retort.

"Harry can handle himself, Hermione. Maybe he's still invisible."

The second year, who had joined their carriage silently, looked curiously at both of them. Hermione knew that it was her duty as a prefect to make sure the younger students got safely into a carriage, but right now, she wished the girl had taken a seat in someone else's carriage. It bothered her that the girl didn't say anything and on top of that, she rather wished to be alone in the carriage with Ron.

"Why would he still be invisible?" she hissed, feeling more annoyed by the second. "As prefects and his friends, we were the first and last ones on the platform, remember? Why would he hide from us?"

"I don't know," Ron said, his tone also irritated. "But let's just not jump to conclusions right now."

Sulking, she looked outside at the bright illuminated castle as they slowly moved toward it.

By the time the Sorting had ended, there had still been no sign of Harry.

"We should have searched for him on the train," she whispered to Ron. Ron nodded and then did something that made her forget her worries about Harry for a moment: he took her hand. Neville, Dean and Ginny, who were sitting nearby, were too busy enjoying the feast to notice anything, but Hermione could feel her face reddening.

"Listen, I'm worried too. But we can't do anything at the moment. Let's just eat, and afterwards, we can go to McGonagall, okay?"

She nodded.

But that didn't seem to be necessary. As everyone was eating the last of their dinner, Harry strolled into the Great Hall. He moved very quickly toward them, and slid in between them at the Gryffindor table. Hermione hadn't been the only one to notice that the Chosen One had walked into the Great Hall: she saw several people craning their necks, and a few people at the Ravenclaw table had actually stood up to get a better view.

"Where've you- blimey, what've you done to your face?" Ron said from behind her. Not only did Harry seem to be in a foul mood based on the frown upon his face, he was fairly dripping blood.

"Why, what's wrong with it?"

"You're covered in blood! Come here —_Tergeo_!"

"Thanks," he said, touching his now clean face. "How's my nose looking?"

"Normal. Why shouldn't it? Harry, what happened, we've been terrified!"

But when she saw him glancing at the other people who were listening in, she knew that she wouldn't get an answer.

"I'll tell you later," he said curtly.

"But—"

"Not now, Hermione," he snapped. While he grabbed a chicken leg, she exchanged a puzzled look with Ron, who also looked concerned, but gave her a slight nod.

They would just have to wait.

Patience had never been one of Hermione's strongest points. She wasn't as impatient as Ginny, but she knew that she was a close second. Harry would tell them eventually… but in the meanwhile, she had a hard time talking to him. Fortunately for her, she got something to think about when Dumbledore began his start of term speech.

"What happened to his hand?" she whispered. It looked like a charred bit of wood. For once not hearing a word of what the headmaster was actually saying, she continued to stare at his hand, both concerned and repulsed.

"His hand was like that when I saw him over the summer. I thought he'd have cured it by now, though…or Madam Pomfrey would've done," Harry said. That shocked her even more, if that was possible. Why hadn't he healed it yet? Or could the damage not be mended? It looked so sick, not at all what one would have expected from Dumbledore.

"It looks as if it's died. But there are some injuries you can't cure…old curses…and there are poisons without antidotes…" she told Harry.

She wondered for a moment which curse had been so powerful that even Dumbledore wasn't able to heal it. And what could he possibly have been doing to get himself injured like that? But the headmaster was still speaking, and she'd listened to almost none of what he'd said so far. Just like Ron had said before: She couldn't do anything at the moment.

"Professor Slughorn is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master." It looked as though Dumbledore was giving them an evening full of surprises.

"Potions?" she said. From Harry's other side she heard Ron say the same thing, and they both looked at Harry.

"But you said—"

"Professor Snape, meanwhile, will be taking over the position of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" Harry said loudly. For a moment she could have sworn that Dumbledore glanced in their direction, but he continued as if nothing had happened.

"But Harry, you said that Slughorn was going to be teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts!"

"I thought he was!"

Hermione had to congratulate Dumbledore on the way he'd gone about the whole thing. If Harry had known that he would be helping Snape to teach DADA when he would lure Slughorn to Hogwarts, he never would have tried to persuade him. If there was one thing that was certain now, it was that Harry's mood would not be improved by this bit of news.

"Well, there's one good thing," he muttered. "Snape'll be gone by the end of the year."

"What do you mean?"

"That job's jinxed. No one's lasted more than a year…Quirrell actually died doing it. Personally, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for another death…"

"Harry!" But Harry only grinned at her.

"He might just go back to teaching Potions at the end of the year. That Slughorn bloke might not want to stay long-term, Moody didn't," Ron said reasonably, although he sounded as though he might prefer a death, too.

When Dumbledore finished his speech, Hermione switched into prefect mode. The first years were looking anxiously around for directions. Without waiting for Ron, she walked over to them. When she had rounded up the first year Gryffindors around her, she glanced to see if Ron had finally remembered that he had prefect duties, but he was talking to Harry, probably about what had kept him on the train. She shrugged. If Harry was willing to tell Ron, she would eventually hear it from him as well, but right now, she needed to show the first years to their beds.

_Hi there! As usual, first huge thanks to Lisa. the Beta, master of untangling nasty side-sentences and replaing non-existent words (like side-sentences) for actual ones. _

_okay, remember that I asked for at least 10 reviews on the last chapter? Well, hold on, people...got... 2... 2!! come on! I mean, maybe it was too early to give a review on the first chapter, but after the 5th you can be pretty sure if you like a story or not, eh??_

_Anyway... the few reviews that I got, mentioned that they wanted to see more of Hermione... pretty logicalnce there was only 1 chapter of Hermion, and 4 of Ginny... Don't worry, both girls will have equal chapters in the story at the end... only sometimes there will be some chapters of the same after each other..._

_Reviews are like good movies: You want to see more and more, and look at the old ones again and again..._

_(btw: If you guys have other metaphors for reviews, you can also let me know in a review. I'm getting a bit blanc on them, and I have at least 44 other chapters in need of a metaphor)_

_x-mokimik-x_


	7. About explaining and rowing

_If JK was a child, I was just one of her teddybears, wanting to give her a massive HUGG_

**7. (****About Explaining and Rowing)**

-An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.-

_Buddha_

After a goodnight kiss from Dean, Ginny walked up to Ron, who was standing in a corner of the common room.

"Hey."

His head shot up. "Oh, hey," he said, not looking at her, but staring past her to the stairs to the girls' dormitories. "Have you seen Hermione?" he asked.

"No, I think she took the long route to the common room for the first years," Ginny said, noticing Ron looked somewhat shamefaced. "What happened to Harry?"

Ron shifted uncomfortably.

"Er… what d'you mean?"

"Well, for starters, he was late to the feast, and when he did show up he was covered in blood. I think that merits a few questions, don't you?"

"I don't think he wants everyone to know."

"Since when have I become 'everyone'?"

Ron still looked hesitant, but Ginny kept staring. There clearly was something going on with Harry, and as a friend, she was concerned.

"He had a run-in with Malfoy on the train. Or rather," Ron rectified, "he tried to spy on the slimy git after you and Neville saw him disappear under the cloak. But Malfoy noticed and Petrified him, punched him, broke his nose…" Ron shuddered. "Then he covered him in the Invisibility Cloak so no one would find him. But Tonks actually did when she searched the train."

"That bastard! I saw him folding the blinds of the compartment, but I thought it meant nothing!"

Ron smiled wryly.

"Yeah, well, Harry's not totally blameless, you know. He was the one who snuck into a compartment full of Slytherins."

"And that gives them an open invitation to make his face bleed?" she retorted angrily.

Ron shrugged, clearly not in the mood to argue about it.

Ginny sighed.

"I'm going to bed. Tell Hermione I said 'hi' if you see her."

"Er… I don't know if I will wait for her. She might be a bit…tetchy, considering I forgot to help her with the first years."

Ginny grinned. "Knowing Hermione, she can't be angry at you for long, so I wouldn't worry about that."

Ron looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

Ginny just smiled. "Nothing. Good night."

"Good night, Gin."

When she opened her bedroom, two of the girls in her year weren't there yet: only Evelyn was in the room, folding her clothes, and she could hear Suzie rummaging around in the bathroom.

"Hi," she said to Evelyn.

Evelyn didn't reply, choosing instead to give her a cold look.

A bit shocked by her friend's response, or lack thereof, Ginny tried to make conversation:

"So, what do you think about Snape finally getting what he wants? Defence Against the Dark Arts will probably be difficult this year, won't it?"

"I guess," Evelyn said coldly, but then blurted, "Where were you on the train?"

Ginny quirked an eyebrow. "With that Slughorn bloke, as I told you. Why, did I miss something?"

Evelyn shook her head, still looking irritated. "Only the most boring train ride ever. I wanted to catch up with you, tell each other about our holidays. But instead of that, I had to listen to every blasted thing that happened to Parvati Patil over the past two months."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't know that I would be stuck in that compartment with Slytherins and Harry and Neville."

"Yeah, well, you dumped me with a group of people that I barely knew and don't even want to know, since they apparently bore me to death with their talks about the weather in their second home near the shore."

"Hey, I can't help that they're Dean's friends!"

"No, but you could have thought about it!"

Ginny shook her head. "Look, Evelyn, I'm really sorry you had to sit with them without me, but I didn't ask to go to that thing with Slughorn."

"Yeah, okay, whatever," her friend sighed. A moment later she pulled the curtains closed on her four-poster.

Suzie came in from the bathroom, and shot a questioning glance at Ginny. It wasn't normal for Evelyn to react so strongly about something so small. Ginny shrugged. She really didn't know what was going on with her friend, but at the moment, there didn't seem to be anything she could do about it. Maybe she could find out tomorrow.

_Squeej! Another chapter posted!_

_Don't worry, Evelyn isn't just a bitch or has become a slut over the summer! She has good reasons to act a bit strange! More on that in the next chapters!_

_Huge thanks to penfriend Lisa!_

_Okay and one little squeeej-moment for JK and telling everyone that Dumbledore is gay:-) I know that a lot of people might be upset, but I also know that a few of my friends who are gay couldn't be more happy!:D_

_Reviews,opinions and random notes are always welcome... I'll reply to everyone who leaves a signed review!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	8. About learning and being annoyed

_I'm just one of the fleas, living in the fur called JK Rowling (iew)_

**8. (****About Learning and being annoyed)**

"Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of many generations. All this is put in your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children."

_Albert Einstein_

First days at schools had always been her favourites. The books in her bags were crisp and new (though of course she'd already begun to read them), she wasn't behind on her homework and no matter what grades she'd earned the previous term, they didn't matter. Her quills were sharp, and her inkbottle was refilled with a new shade of blue.

So despite hearing about what had happened to Harry the night before and scolding Ron about the correct usage of free periods, she was still in a fine mood. It was a first day, after all.

The problems started when they got into the corridor outside the portrait hole, where a fourth year was walking with a Fanged Frisbee.

"Hold it! Fanged Frisbees are banned, hand it over," she said, holding out her hand. The boy scowled, but Hermione paid no attention, continuing to gaze sternly at him until he handed it over. She knew that a lot of people thought she liked playing the spoiler, but this wasn't the case. The fact was that she was the one appointed to do so, and unlike Ron, she really wanted to be a good prefect. Having to be somewhat stern from time to time was just a little drawback on her position. However, that wasn't the only thing that annoyed her this morning.

"Excellent, I've always wanted one of these!" Ron said, grabbing the Frisbee out of her hands.

Hermione had wanted to laugh at his enthusiasm, she really did, but someone else did it first. Lavender Brown was laughing at Ron's remark. Hermione quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing. Lavender kept giggling until she had passed them. When Hermione turned back, she saw a very strange look on Ron's face. He looked… pleased.

Every hormonal alarm Hermione had went off instantly. Last night when she'd returned from directing the first years to their dormitories, she had heard Lavender mentioning Ron, before she and Parvati had noticed Hermione standing in the doorway.

Since when was Lavender interested in Ron?

Lavender's amazingly annoying laugh ran through Hermione's head in a continuous loop through all of breakfast and into Ancient Runes, at least until homework was assigned, giving her something else to think about. And it was going to be a lot of something else; the amount of work Professor Gandling had assigned looked like an entire week's worth from the previous year.

After that was Defence. Sure, she had expected it to be difficult, especially after hearing Snape would be teaching it, but she'd still underestimated it. Learning nonverbal spells was a lot harder than she'd expected it to be, and it took her quite some time before she managed to pull one off. On top of that, she could almost feel the irritation and hate radiating off of Harry. Nonverbals weren't easy to begin with, and Snape wasn't making it any easier. Especially for Harry.

"_Protego!_" Snape was blasted to the floor by the strength of Harry's spell. She was not surprised to see Ron grinning from several feet behind Snape's supine form, and shot him a warning look.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practising _nonverbal _spells, Potter?"

Snape towered over Harry, but Harry didn't bother looking scared. Instead, he got angrier. This day was not going well.

"Yes."

"Yes_, sir_."

"There's no need to call me 'sir', Professor."

The look upon Snape's face was one of pure hatred, and Hermione immediately knew he had Harry right where he wanted him.

"Detention, Saturday night, my office. I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter….not even the Chosen One."

When the bell rang, Ron clapped Harry on the shoulder. "That was brilliant, Harry!"

"You really shouldn't have said it," she said, glancing at Ron, who rolled his eyes at her. "What made you?"

"He tried to jinx me, in case you didn't notice!" he fumed, but before Hermione could get a word in, Harry had hurtled on. "I had enough of that during those Occlumency lessons! Why doesn't he use another guinea pig for a change? What's Dumbledore playing at, anyway, letting him teach Defence? Did you hear him talking about the Dark Arts? He loves them! All that _unfixed, indestructible_ stuff—"

"Well," she started slowly, not really sure how he and Ron would react, "I thought he sounded a bit like you."

"Like _me_?"

Ron looked at her as though she'd grown a second head, but she thought of what Ginny had said to her back at the Burrow: _"You can't let Harry walk over the both of you. He's been through a lot, but he should know by now that you are his friends." _

"Yes, when you were telling us what it's like to face Voldemort. You said it wasn't just memorizing a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts – well, wasn't that what Snape was saying? That it really comes down to being brave and quick thinking?"

Harry stared at her for a moment, as though he wasn't entirely sure how to respond to her. However, before he could say anything, Jack Sloper came to them, and demanded his attention.

She looked at Ron, next to her, who was staring at her in amazement. She felt her face burn (with what? Embarrassment? Pleasure?) as he said, "How can you memorize Harry's incoherent babbling just as well as stuff that Dumbledore and Snape say?" he whispered softly. Hermione shyly shrugged and smiled at him.

"Don't worry, I remember your babbling too," she said, but before he could respond, their attention fell on the parchment Harry had just received from Jack.

It still was the first day, after all; it was bound to get better. Potions had never been pleasant, even though she had always done relatively well, but with Slughorn as the new professor, Hermione felt that that might change. Some cauldrons were already full of potion, and when they sat down, Hermione looked around: she saw to her delight that she could name everyone of them. The one standing right before her on the table, made her a bit dizzy and light in her head though, and Hermione was almost sure the smell came more from her right, though the cauldron was standing at the left of her. She couldn't wait to see how the new professor would do it.….

_okay, this chapter and the next one are pretty much from the books. Of course written from Hermione's point of view, which means still a bit diffrent, but I'm guessing that there are probably 1000 fanfic's written about this particular chapter from her point of view, varying from Hermione swooning like a damsel in distress over Ron, or being totally depressed that Snape's not giving potions anymore, because she had a secret affair with him. :P _

_Anyway, since I think 6th year Hermione is more a damsel in distress then a Xena warior princess falling for the (way older) enemy, I think my chapter will look more like the first variation. _

_Huge thanks to Lisa as usual!_

_Reviews make me feel like Xena Warrior Princess- a bit more selfconfident and knowing on which points I should focus!_


	9. About intoxicating and losing

_If JK was a boogey-man, then I would be the kid who likes to dress up as one, not meaning to become just as scary:D_

_And without further ado: the chapter almost everyone and their mums have written._

**9. (****About intoxicating and losing)**

-Young people are in a condition like permanent intoxication, because youth is sweet and they are growing.-

_Aristotle_

They sat down at the table and unpacked their quills, ink and parchment. Hermione could tell that she wasn't the only one being affected by the potion in front of them. Harry had been staring into some spot in the middle distance ever since he'd come back with two copies of _Advanced Potion-Making _and two pairs of scales for himself and Ron. Ernie kept leaning closer and closer to the cauldron, apparently trying to inhale as much of the potion as possible. And Ron… well, Hermione didn't know what Ron was doing, since she was trying to ignore him… although it looked as though that would be nearly impossible, considering the scent wafting from the cauldron. It was almost like she was surrounded by Ron's scent, and every time she inhaled, it only got harder to keep from grabbing him by the ears and kissing him full on the mouth. Shaking her head slightly, as if to escape the odeur, she focused on the professor, who was standing in the middle of the dungeon. Hermione was rather forcibly reminded of pictures of St. Nick; only the red suit and beard were lacking. He was quite caught up talking to the class at the moment; ordinarily Hermione would be as well, but the knowledge that if she leaned slightly to the right she would be touching Ron's arm seemed far more important.

"Anyone tell me what this one is?" Her hand, seemingly of its own accord, shot into the air.

"It's Veritaserum, a colourless, odourless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth."

"Very good, very good!" Slughorn said. Ron grinned at her, and the floaty feeling in her head only got worse. If she could only stay focused on the professor's questions, then maybe, just _maybe_, it would go away.

"… leaflets, too… Who can—"

"It's Polyjuice Potion, sir," she said.

"Excellent, excellent! Now, this one here…" Slughorn walked towards their table and, again, Hermione raised her hand. "Yes, my dear?"

"It's Amortentia!"

"It is indeed. It seems almost foolish to ask," Slughorn continued bemusedly, "but I assume you know what it does?" The steam was almost overwhelming now, and as if that wasn't enough, Ron's leg suddenly brushed hers under the table. She was sure that if she tried to stand now, her legs wouldn't be able to support her.

"It's the most powerful love potion in the world!" she managed to squeak out.

"Quite right! You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?"

"And the steam rising in characteristic spirals, and it's supposed to smell differently to each of us," – another wave of steam wafted into her face and she inhaled deeply – "according to what attracts us," – the vacant feeling in her head was more intoxicating than ever – "and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and —" Ron's foot nudged her under the table; only then did she realise that the potion was making her spill one of her deepest secrets to a whole classroom and she cut herself off immediately. Turning pink, she leaned away from the potion, and inhaled what she really hoped was fresh air.

"May I ask your name, my dear?" Slughorn said.

"Hermione Granger, sir."

"Granger? Granger? Can you possibly be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

Hermione smiled wryly to herself. Now she understood what Harry had meant about Slughorn. He was above all, though certainly a Slytherin, fond of pure-bloods.

"No, I don't think so, sir. I'm Muggle-born, you see." Slughorn seemed surprised at hearing this, but still beamed at her. She was in the meantime feeling slightly dizzy again, so she turned her head to gasp in more potion-free air as Slughorn said:

"Oho! '_One of my best friends is Muggle-born and she's the best in our year!_' I'm assuming that is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?"

"Yes sir," Harry responded, barely bothering to snap out of the dreamy state the potion seemed to have put him in.

"Well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger," Slughorn said, but Hermione hardly paid him any mind.

"Did you really tell him I'm the best in the year? Oh, Harry!" He just blinked at her, rather perplexed, then fell back in his dreamy state again, leaning his head on his hands. Ron, however, fixed her with an annoyed glare. She heard that his foot shove away from hers under the table.

"Well, what's so impressive about that? You _are_ the best in our year. I'd've told him so if he asked me!"

Hermione looked at him and felt her knees go weak again. Quickly, she turned back to Slughorn's speech and shushed Ron.

When she heard that the assignment for today was to make the Draught of the Living Death, she became instantly excited. In her 4th year, she had once made an essay about it, and Hermione was almost sure that she would win the prize. It would be marvellous to have some extra luck on their side, especially now that Harry seemed destined to eventually vanquish Voldemort.

She took her stuff out of her bag and opened her book to the correct page. Next to her, Ron opened his book, and made a disgusted sound upon seeing page fifty-two. Fortunately, today he would only need to know what was on page sixty-seven.

Cutting her valerian roots with the ease of a skilled potion maker, she started to work. However, in all her excitement she had forgotten that there still was a huge cauldron full of Amortentia standing before her on the table. Normally, she had no trouble focusing on the assignment, but now her mind was overflowing with thoughts completely unrelated to the task at hand. When she should have been thinking about how she could best cut the sopophorus bean, she was instead attempting to figure out the source of that third scent. It smelled… well, warm, in a way, not that warmth could be smelled. Maybe like something that had been out in the sun… but what sort of something?

Shaking her head furiously, she tried to force the traitorous thoughts out of her head. The potion was supposed to have turned a pale lilac by now, but it was the exact dark currant colour it had been before.

"Can I borrow your silver knife?" Harry asked from beside her. She nodded impatiently, not even glancing away from her cauldron. Then from her left came a bizarre squishing sound. Hermione looked up, and to her astonishment, saw that Harry, had somehow managed to turn his potion the lilac shade described in the textbook even before she had managed to do so herself. She glared furiously at her own potion for a moment, then looked back at his. It had turned light pink already – now it was perfectly clear. For the first time in their schooling, Harry was besting her at Potions.

"How are you doing that?" Hermione asked, unable to figure out what she had done wrong.

"Add a clockwise stir—"

"No, no, the book says counter clockwise!"

Her friend shrugged his shoulders at her comment and continued. How could Harry possibly beating her by ignoring the rules? It simply didn't make sense – and yet the proof was right there. She glanced at the clock and saw to her bewilderment that there were only a few minutes left. Why had she wasted her time with trying to decipher the Amortentia? Hastily she tried to make hers just as pale as Harry's, but it was no use…

"And time's…. up!" called Slughorn.

Hermione stared at Harry, completely dumbfounded. He would be sure to win the Felix Felicis now, but seemed to be just as surprised about it as she was. If only that stupid love potion hadn't been at their table! Damn Ron and his intoxicating scent.

_huzzah for the 9 reviews I got in barely 2 days! I figured that you reviewing-people earned a treat on the night before Halloween :D_

_I like this chapter...I don't know exactly why, but it makes Hermione act like a fool and in the books, she's sometimes way to in control..._

_Anyway, huge thanks to my beta Lisa_

_Next chapter will be about Ginny stressing over... well... everything..._

_If you would like to have an update sooner than next week, you have to leave me a review. Yes, I know, it's blackmailing- what can I say?- I'm addicted to them! At least 15 reviews before Saturday and I promise I'll update 2 chapters right behind each other!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	10. About stressing and shivering

_If JK was an oil-resource, I would only be the girl needing the gas for her car..._

**10. (****About Stressing and Shivering)**

-Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet-

_A__nonymous_

Ginny had never felt so much pressure on the first day of school. She had known that fifth year was supposed to be hard: Fred and George had told her on numerous occasions and had tried to sell her a lot of Skiving Snackboxes to "help her get through." She had bought a few, not really intending to use them, but now, in only her second hour of class, she was really considering using one of those Nosebleed Nougats.

Her first lesson had been with Snape, and that wasn't just what anyone needed on a Monday morning. It wasn't the case that Ginny wasn't good in Defence; on the contrary. Most of the spells they had practised she had already mastered in the DA last year, but that didn't make the lesson exactly fun. Snape had ignored her (certainly proficient, if not magnificent) spellwork and given points to the Slytherin she was partnering, Marcel Quint, when he attacked her.

By the time the lesson was over, Snape had given them so much work that she wondered if it was actually possible to complete that much work in three days.

The walk from Defence to Herbology wasn't pleasant either: Zacharias Smith walked by, still looking murderous. Normally, Ginny wouldn't have thought him worth a second glance, but something in his stare made her feel uncomfortable. Maybe she had really gone a bit too far by attacking him. On top of that, Evelyn was still acting oddly and giving her the cold shoulder. Ginny was keen to know what was bothering her friend so much, but the only way to find out was for Evelyn to open up, and based on the bitter remarks and short answers, it seemed that would take some time. Then there was Ancient Runes, which she didn't like much and had only taken because Ron had strongly advised her against Divination. All in all, she was not in the best mood possible when the bell rang for their lunch-break.

Dean spent most of lunch trying to calm her down. He didn't succeed.

"Relax, I know what you have to go through. Fifth year is hard."

"Yeah, well, how does that help me?" she snapped. Dean looked a bit irritated, but (admirably) managed to keep his cool.

"Well, I happen to have this," he said, diving into his bag. Curiously, Ginny looked over his shoulder. Finally emerging with a stack of highly flattened parchment, he grinned and handed it to her.

"What, more homework?" Dean shook his head, looking at the stack as though it was holy. He reminded her suddenly of Fred and George when they had just hit on some major pranking improvement.

"Homework that's already been done, actually; mine from last year. You can use it if you want."

She stared at him for a moment. Was he serious? Ginny remembered suddenly why Dean was so great: He was helpful and very, very nice.

"Really?"

"Of course. Let me know if you can't read my handwriting."

She looked at the stack in her hands, now slightly hesitant. A voice in her head, sounding eerily like Hermione, was fairly ordering her not to take it, but she also felt the amount of homework burning a hole in her bag. It wasn't a particularly difficult decision once she remembered how much of it there was, while looking into Dean's expectant eyes.

"Thank you! This will be a great help!" She kissed him on the lips and he stood up.

"I have to go get my books for the rest of the day. See you at dinner." He gave her another kiss and walked out of the Great Hall. She watched him go, but then her eyes fell on Evelyn, who was sitting halfway down the table, looking moody.

Not in the mood for a nasty remark, she decided to talk to Evelyn later in the afternoon, and turned to sit not with her, but with Hermione, Ron and Harry.

"…was getting annoyed with it, there was writing everywhere. But then I reckoned I'd try one of the directions, and it worked, so I just kept using them. It looks like whoever owned the book before was really into Potions – I mean, their edits are better than the regular instructions, I've never done that well in Potions before," she heard Harry say. "I s'pose you think I cheated?" he asked to Hermione, who was looking more annoyed than the occasion seemed to warrant.

"Well, it wasn't exactly your own work, was it?" She asked.

"He only followed different instructions to ours. Could've been a catastrophe, couldn't it? But he took a risk and it paid off. Slughorn could've handed me that book, but no, I get the one no one's ever written in. Puked on, by the look of page fifty-two, but—"

"Hang on," she interrupted, leaning into the conversation. This sounded serious. Had Harry really forgotten the consequences of following directions written in a book?

"Did I hear right? You've been taking orders from something someone wrote in a book, Harry?"

They all seemed to realise what she meant immediately.

"It's nothing," Harry said, lowering his voice. Ginny had to lean in further to hear what he said next. "It's not like, you know, Riddle's diary. It's just an old textbook someone's scribbled in."

"But you're doing what it says?" She was becoming more worried – and angry – by the second. How could Harry speak so lightly about something that was obviously dodgy, and might have terrible consequences?

"I just tried a few of the tips written in the margins, honestly, Ginny, there's nothing funny-"

But Ginny had exchanged a dark significant look with Hermione, who interrupted Harry and dove into his school bag.

"Ginny's got a point. We ought to check that there's nothing odd about it. I mean, all these funny instructions, who knows?"

"Hey!" Harry protested, but Hermione had already taken the book, and was examining it minutely. Even though Ginny knew Hermione's support came less from actual fear than from irritation that Harry was now probably beating her in Potions, she was grateful that Hermione was on her side.

The book looked like a particularly tattered edition of the Potions book she had seen some Slytherins walking by with moments before. But then again, Ginny knew all too well that one shouldn't judge a book on its cover. After all, the diary had looked normal too.

"_Specialis revelio_!" Hermione tapped the book, but nothing happened. Ron and Harry raised their eyebrows at each other. Hermione looked disappointed, but Ginny knew that the apparently clean result didn't mean much. Her mind flew back to her first year, when she'd fearfully watched Harry, Hermione and Ron sitting in the common room, with her diary in between them, trying to make it spill its secrets. Nothing had happened. Ginny had been so scared that Tom might tell Harry everything that she had stolen back the diary, making a huge mess. For obvious reasons, the fact that Hermione couldn't make this book spill everything now didn't console her at all.

"Finished?" Harry asked, clearly irritated. "Or d'you want to wait and see if it does a few back flips?"

"It seems alright. I mean, it really does seem to be…" Hermione looked helplessly at Ginny, "just a textbook."

He bent over to pick it up, pausing slightly as he did so. Something in the book had caught his attention, and she saw that he was reading something that had been scribbled in very tiny handwriting on the back. Neither Ron nor Hermione seemed to have noticed, and Harry didn't volunteer the information.

Somehow, Ginny felt suddenly very cold, and the weird feeling in her stomach seemed to be back, intensifying her stress.

_that's all! _

_I know, I kow, it's a bit of a filling-chapter, but I need all this information to go on with the story...Huge thanks to Lisa!_

_anyway, reviews are more than welcome! they keep me sharp and will prevent mistakes in upcoming chapters:)_

_all you have to do is push that button... just like in the girl from the sugarbabes... it's been in my head the whole day and I don't know the lyrics... soooo annoying..._

_x-mokimik-x_


	11. About remembering and talking

_If JK was a character from the tv-show Heroes, then I would be Peter, absorbing her powers a bit and trying to learn from her. However, not, as the lexicon, trying to become her._

**11. (****About Remembering and Talking)**

-When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.-

_Japanese Proverb_

Ginny tried not to think too much about the events of her first year. Most of the horrible things she couldn't remember, and the things that she could weren't pleasant. She still felt ashamed when she recalled how she had fallen for the boy in the diary. About how she had painted something awful on the wall near the bathroom of Myrtle and how she had tarnished the boys' dormitory to pieces.

However, that didn't mean she was scared of her past. She had accepted that those things had happened, and was glad that it was over. Her second year at Hogwarts was the first year that she counted, since that was when she had finally started to make some friends. Evelyn had been one of the first.

Evelyn seemed to be a lonely, quiet sort of girl, but as Ginny eventually discovered, appearances were certainly deceiving. She was quiet, yes, but was rather funny when called upon. Her shyness rarely presented itself, unless they were in lessons and she didn't know the answers. Ginny learned quickly that Evelyn was actually a girl after the bold tradition of Fred and George; everything those older brothers had never wanted to tell her, Ginny had learned from Evelyn, like how to sneak into the kitchens, and which passageways one could take to get rid of Mrs. Norris. The fun had increased exponentially when she had introduced her to Fred and George, who deemed her to be "the bravest girl besides Ginny."

In short, Evelyn had been the one to make the real Ginny Weasley come out of her shell and open up to others again.

Now, however, it seemed to be the other way around. Where Ginny was well-known for her outgoing personality, Evelyn seemed to become increasingly silent. In the few days that had passed since the beginning of term, she acted more and more coldly to everyone around her, and especially towards Ginny.

Ginny really wanted to make things right, but she honestly didn't know what she had done. Sure, she hadn't written that often during summer, but Evelyn never expected that: Expressing her feelings on a piece of paper hadn't become her favourite hobby after first year. Evelyn knew that. Suzie had suggested that Evelyn was jealous of Ginny's relationship with Dean, but that had to be nonsense: Evelyn hadn't had problems with Ginny and Michael last year, and right before the holidays had started, she seemed to be perfectly fine with Ginny and Dean being a couple.

By Friday, after a particularly cold shoulder during potions, Ginny had had it. When the bell rang, she grabbed her friend's bag and her own, swung them both over her shoulder and took her friend by the elbow. Ignoring Evelyn's sputtering and the weird looks people in the corridor were giving her, she dragged her friend along until they found an empty classroom.

She pushed Evelyn into one of the chairs and dropped both of their book bags on the floor.

"Okay, and now tell me what's bothering you," she spat. "What have I done, what has _anybody_ done to make you so angry?"

For a moment, she expected Evelyn to shout back and storm right out of the room, but then she did something completely unexpected.

She burst into tears.

In the four years she had known Evelyn, Ginny had never seen her cry. She had seen her shocked, when Cedric Diggory had died and Dumbledore had given that speech at the end of their third year and a few tears might have ran over her face, but she'd never seen her really cry. Something truly awful must have happened for Evelyn to be crying like this.

Ginny leaned forward to hug her gently, but Evelyn only cried harder, spilling rivers of tears onto Ginny's shoulder.

Holding her silently, while the girl seemed to spill whole rivers on her shoulder, she wondered what had made such an impact.

A door opened, and Ginny looked up, to see Luna standing in the door opening.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I heard the sounds of a Lacrimantanic."

"Never mind, Luna," Ginny said softly, and she waved to the girl who turned around and left.

"A what?" she heard Evelyn ask.

"A Lacrimantic off course," she grinned, and looking at her friend. "Are you all right again?"

"Yes.. no…I don't know. I'm sorry I've been acting so weird last week."

"That's okay. Do…Do you want to tell me why you're so upset?"

Evelyn shook her head. "Did you hear about everything that was happening over the summer holidays? Trolls destroying towns and everything?"

Ginny nodded, a horrible feeling coming over her. She'd been so involved with attempting to avoid Fleur for most of the summer holidays that she'd never made the connection between one of the towns she'd read about in the _Prophet_ with the one in Evelyn's address.

"Our house got destroyed." Ginny's mouth fell open.

"Are your parents all right? And your brother?" Evelyn started to cry again, but this time silently. She nodded.

"My dad is fine. Even helped to clean up the mess with some other wizards who live nearby. My mum was knocked out by some falling wood. She's fine now, but she and my dad are having constant fights about me."

"You?" said Ginny, bewildered. She had once met Evelyn's mother, and for a Muggle, she was pretty reasonable when it came to magic.

"Mum doesn't want me to be here. She says that it'll be hard enough for us to build our home again without a daughter who's learning the same tricks at school that wrecked our house in the first place." Ginny looked at her, shocked.

"My dad doesn't agree, of course," Evelyn continued. "He's proud I'm magical like he is. But he can't deny the fact that it's getting more and more dangerous every minute and that if there are more of these things happening in the upcoming school year, he's going to write to Dumbledore and take me out of school."

"That's awful!" Ginny's mouth felt very dry and she realised that there was a lump in her throat

"Yes, but it makes a lot of sense. Hogwarts is probably You-Know-Who's first target and I'm not a pureblood witch like you are. My mum and my brother are exactly the kind of people he wants to get rid of, so it's not safe for me to be here."

"No, but neither is your home. Oh, Evelyn, why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have invited you to the Burrow to stay there during the summer!"

"You seemed to be so busy. Your parents are involved in the Order – don't try to deny it, I heard you talking to Ron last year – so I would only be in the way. And you had Dean, and your other friends to worry about—"

Evelyn started to cry again, and Ginny leaned forward to hug her again.

"But you were there first," she said softly.

_hope you guys liked it and didn't see the Evelyn-thing coming from miles ago... Hope you also thought it wasn't corny or anything..._

_huge thanks to Lisa! _

_If I'm ever done with this story (it's getting so much longer then expected) and have done Hermione, Ginny and the Deathly Hallows (because I just can't wait to make up all the hidden Ginny-action in there), I might even do a story about Ginny alone in her second year... her first year creeps me out, and I'm really not good in writing Voldemort, so I'll just tell about her second year. _

_Second note: You might perhaps have read every disclaimer on top of every chapter... I like to use a lot of metaphores, but... it's getting a bit hard to think of some...Please let me know if you have some!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	12. About defeating and flirting

_If JK were a tree, I would totally built a tree-house in her! (in other words: I'm still disclaiming I'm her)_

**12. (****About Defeating and flirting)**

-Conversation has a kind of charm about it, an insinuating and insidious something that elicits secrets from us just like love or liquor.-

_Seneca _

Now that there was no Amortentia to distract her from the assignments Slughorn set, Hermione had been sure would easily beat Harry in any contest the professor dreamt up. Yes, Harry had a little extra help, but it wasn't as if she couldn't get some additional help herself. After all, she'd been studying extra books as long as she could remember; they'd never failed to help before.

However, by two lessons later, Hermione had realised that her favourite solution was not going to work. The person who had been writing in that book had done it thoroughly; every tip she found in the library had already been scribbled down in the book, and it even seemed to have known things famous potioneers had not thought of. Did that mean the anonymous owner had come up with these adjustments on his own?

She had spoken to Ginny, who even seemed more concerned than she was, but both of them couldn't find a way to keep the book away from Harry. Hermione had sensed that she had irritated Ginny by being more concerned for Harry suddenly beating her in potions then Harry's safety. Which of course wasn't true: she was concerned for Harry, but just thought that the chance of being attacked by a book would be very small. Especially now she had looked for it's secrets.

Ron didn't seem to like the fact that Harry was suddenly the star of Potions either, though he was only annoyed because he couldn't read the scratchy handwriting as easily as Harry could, and was now the only one of them making mistakes in class.

On Saturday evening, the tree of them sat in the common room, making some of their homework. Hermione had just been to the library, and was scanning a book she thought would come in handy for the Ancient Runes essay she had due on Friday. She had just finished her essay on the principles of rematerialization half an hour ago, and had expected to have to help the boys on their potions essays. But instead, both of them were bent attentively over the potions textbook, staring at it with more awe than she had ever seen them display toward anything other than Quidditch.

"Look. He called himself the Half-Blood-Prince."

"Great, a nickname. Some help that is," Ron said, disgruntled. "Moony, You-Know-Who… the Boy Who Lived… no, wait, they're calling you the Chosen One these days." Harry scowled and gave Ron a push. Hermione glanced at the book. In the light of the fire, the ink seemed to squirm in the book.

"And look at this," Harry continued. "Found it last night. They're spells, but I've never heard of them. D'you suppose he made them up himself?"

"Could be…" Ron answered slowly. "I guess that's the way it works, people just make them up. Looks like he was smart enough, in any case."

It annoyed Hermione endlessly that he and Harry were talking about the book's former owner as if he was a pop idol or something. They didn't even know him! And why did they assume it had to be a male in the first place?

"They're handwritten… guess he must've made them up himself."

"Or herself," she said irritably. "It might have been a girl. I think the handwriting looks more like a girl's than a boy's."

"The Half-Blood _Prince_, he was called," Harry said. "How many girls have been Princes?"

She didn't answer. That did sound logical, but somehow, it kept nagging at her. It still rankled that neither of them thought a girl would be smart enough to come up with new spells on her own. She glanced at Ron, but scowled as she saw that he was trying to read her still drying essay for Transfiguration upside down. Ron reddened as she took it from under his nose and rolled the essay up.

"It's five to eight, I'd better go, I'll be late for Dumbledore," Harry suddenly said, putting the book in his bag.

She felt a pang of two mixed emotions in her stomach. One was guilt, for completely forgetting that her friend would be off tonight to learn something that must be important. The other emotion was a tingle of jealousy. She couldn't help but wish she could go along – learning from Dumbledore was sure to be an amazing experience.

"Oh!" she gasped, tearing her eyes away from Ron, who looked at her pleadingly. "Good luck! We'll wait up, we want to hear what he teaches you!"

"Hope it goes okay," said Ron, and the pair of them watched Harry leave through the portrait hole.

"Of course it will. I'm sure Dumbledore is a wonderful teacher."

"Well, yeah. I just hope he won't try Harry to teach Occlumency again. That was terrible," he said, quietly.

Hermione nodded. She remembered all too well how painful it had been watching Harry suffer through Occlumency lessons.

"I suppose that if Dumbledore was teaching it, though, he would do a better job than Snape," Ron said. Hermione nodded again.

"I don't think Dumbledore would sneer at him, at least," she said. "But didn't Harry say it wouldn't be Occlumency?"

"No, just that they wouldn't be with Snape." Ron looked at his homework, spread across the table. He sighed. "What time do we start patrolling the corridors tonight?"

"At nine."

"Then I better start working, eh?" His shoulders were sagging and Hermione knew that he was almost begging to her to help him with it.

"All right, I'll help you," she sighed. Ron grinned, and she added: "But only helping. I won't let you look at my essays."

"Thanks Hermione, you're the best," he said softly.

Hermione felt her cheeks growing red. "Hm… I'm a pushover, if anything. Let me see what you did so far."

"Yeah, but you're my pushover. Here—" He handed her his essays while she sat on the couch next to him. Hermione noticed she wasn't the only one who seemed to be warm. Ron seemed to suffer from the heat too – especially around his ears.

Reading it over, she was pleasantly surprised. It actually looked like Ron didn't need her help at all. His work might not be finished, but the part that was actually written was quite good.

"It's perfectly written, Ron. All you need to do now is write a conclusion. And with this one, you need to explain the continuation of the process of transforming in more detail. It seems a bit hasty."

Leaning over, he started to write. Hermione put her feet on the couch they were sitting on, and snuggled a bit more against Ron. Forgetting her curiosity about what Harry might learn tonight, or her irritation about the Potion book, she grabbed her book on Ancient Runes and started to flip through it. The jealousy in her stomach had disappeared: She suddenly hoped Harry would have a lot of these private lessons with Dumbledore.

_ahhhh... I like the end of this chapter... just some Hemione/Ron comfortable-ness-fluff...before hell will break loose some 20 chapters further...XD _

_I can somehow totally picture them on an old, orange-y couch, she leaning on him, as he is trying to write his essay, but somehow can't stop sniffing her hair..._

_Okay, I'll stop..._

_Anyway... thanks To Lisa again, for editing the chaos that I usually send her_

_And everyone who would like to review is hereby ecouraged! Just as those who want to leave suggestions, notes about me being mistaken in anything, or just random notes are!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	13. About stressing and dreaming

_Even though I'm not American, let's stay in the spirit of Thanksgiving: If JK was a turkey, I would be a tiny bit of the stuffing_

**13. (about stressing and dreaming)**

-Dreams surely are difficult, confusing, and not everything in them is brought to pass for mankind.-

_Homer_

Ginny was scribbling frantically on the parchment that was lying in front of her. It was official: she hated fifth year. She honestly didn't know how Harry, Hermione and Ron had managed last year, and couldn't help but be glad they didn't have the DA anymore. She had been behind on her homework since the first day of school, and now, on Saturday evening, while everyone was having fun in the common room, she was sitting with some other fifth years in the library, frantically wishing for a spell to do her homework automatically and relieve her from stress.

Next to her, three essays were drying, and though they were evidence that Ginny had done something this evening, it felt as if she hadn't. Half an hour ago, she had heard from a classmate that the Muggle studies essay hadn't been postponed as they had hoped, and was still due on Monday. And besides that, she still needed to practise Transfiguration, Professor Sprout expected their assignments done that same day, and she had to read and summarize two thick books for Ancient Runes.

Evelyn was a bit more relaxed, but still working incredibly hard. Since their talk, she had been acting normally, though Ginny could tell how worried and sad her friend was. It seemed Evelyn's dad had dropped her at the station this year without her mum knowing, and Evelyn was sure that once her mum found out, her dad would be in trouble. Since she hadn't got an owl from her parents yet (Ginny had already received three, but that was Mum for you), Evelyn was sure that her mum was angry at her too, and Ginny couldn't find any words to contradict that.

She crossed out the last sentence on her assignment for Potions, and was just about to check her notes again, when there was a very loud, dry cough, and everyone looked up.

"It's half past eight. The library is closed," Madame Pince said.

Cursing inwardly, Ginny gathered her stuff, feeling a wave of panic come over her. She wondered why she was so stressed: normally, unfinished homework wouldn't make her so nervous. Were Hermione's talks about homework finally starting to rub off on her?

Evelyn and Colin Creevey were also packing their bags, but they at least seemed to be having a laugh over something.

"Coming Ginny?" Evelyn asked.

Ginny knew it would be better for her to just stop worrying and postpone the rest of her homework for tomorrow, but she couldn't. Dean was expecting to do something fun tomorrow, and after she had blown him off yesterday to talk with Evelyn, he would be in a foul mood if she bailed on him again.

"You guys go ahead. I have to search for just one more book."

Ginny knew that Evelyn liked Colin, so it didn't surprise her that without a second glance both of them turned around and strolled out of the library, laughing again at something Colin had said.

Ginny wasn't planning to search for a book, though. When they had disappeared, she also left the library, but in the direction of the Charms classroom rather than Gryffindor Tower. The door was locked of course, and because it was a Charms classroom, Ginny had a feeling _Alohomora_ wouldn't help. A paperclip and some handiness did the trick, though.

She unpacked her stuff again, lit some candles, and, sitting behind one of the front desks, she started working again, hoping she wouldn't feel too tired to finish it.

When her quill broke, she cursed (loudly, since no one was there to hear her anyway). Fortunately, she knew Flitwick kept some spares on the table near the blackboard.

She knew quite well why she was more stressed than usual, although she had no desire to actually tell anyone the reason. Her nightmares had come back that week, and as a result she had slept very badly.

After her first year, the memories of what she had done hadn't completely disappeared. They had haunted her in her dreams for quite some time, not only because she couldn't forget what had happened – others around her had trouble forgetting too. A few boys in her class had remembered her almost daily questions about Colin Creevey, who had been Petrified. A few older Slytherins had approached her, taunting her and asking if she would please rid the school of Muggleborns again. A bossy sixth year Ravenclaw had even shrieked in the corridors, demanding to know why she hadn't been expelled.

Most of the pestering had stopped when the twins noticed what had been going on; Ginny suspected that Hermione had said something to them. Fred and George had hexed everyone who made comments, and since they were both oddly omniscient about who had pestered their little sister (Ginny thought Evelyn might have had something to do with it as well), it had stopped around November of her second year.

But the dreams hadn't stopped then, though. There was a particularly nasty one where she heard the basilisk slithering towards her and fell to the ground, a strangled chicken in one hand and Tom towering over her, slowly morphing his features into something scarcely resembling a human. She had no idea what Voldemort actually looked like, as she'd never seen a picture, but what she saw in her dreams was awful enough.

Only after Professor Lupin had talked to her around March and she told him everything did the experience of waking in the dead of night, panting and convinced she was about to die, finally stop.

But now they were back. Ginny sighed. On Monday night she had revisited the Chamber, accompanied by the stone figures of Colin and Hermione.

_It's probably the stress_, she thought, rolling up her now finished assignment and beginning the one for Muggle Studies. But she knew that the Potions book in Harry's hands last week also had triggered something in her brain. She felt uncomfortable knowing he was walking around with it, and was inexplicably worried for him.

And then there was Dean. As much as he liked her, and as much as she liked him, she could get a bit tired of him at times. He obviously meant well, but for Merlin's sake, she was capable of surviving without anyone holding doors open for her. It was as though he'd forgotten she had a life outside of him, with other friends that he didn't know and loads of homework he couldn't help with. She hadn't told him she was positively drowning in work; for all he thought, he had fixed that by giving her his old assignments. However, Ginny had quickly realised that they were of no help at all. Although of course they covered the same topics, the professors had obviously anticipated the possibility of a student getting the previous year's work and changed their questions accordingly. Almost none of Dean's work matched what she had this year. And the little stuff that did, hadn't been given such high marks. Either way she was stuck, and, as yet, she hadn't had the time or the heart to tell Dean. He had been so cute when he was trying to take care of her homework problems that she hated the thought of crushing his hope.

The candles flickered a bit, and Ginny's eyelids drooped. She shook her head quickly and turned her attention back to the parchment. This was going to have to be the last one for this evening. She only had two other assignments due tomorrow, and she could do them during her free hours, or during lunch.

If only she could finish this one….

_duh duh duhhhh_

_thanks to Lisa, friend and beta_

_Okay, again nt much happening, al lot of pondering...However, I hope you guys like these chapters too! _

_If not, let me know how I can improve! _

_Next chapter is called About Kissing and Finding, and it's about Hermione... If you have some time, let me know what you think what that could mean, so I can laugh a bit, and give you guys a sneak-peak in my reply;)_

_x-mokimik-x_


	14. About kissing and finding

If my inspiation was the flame on a candle, JK would be the wax...:P

**14. (about kissing and finding)**

-No, this trick won't work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?-

_Albert Einstein_

"Ron, stop it," she said to the redhead walking next to her. "We have to pay attention to patrolling."

However, she didn't particularly mind that Ron was poking her in the side, apparently intending to make her squirm a bit. She couldn't stand being tickled, and this seemed to have the same effect on her. Whether that was because she was just sensitive in that area or because of the person poking her, she didn't know.

"Oh, lighten up. There's no one around," he said, waving his arm around them. The corridor was indeed deserted. She smiled. They were almost done with patrolling, since it was nearly eleven.

"Well, if all the patrolling this year is going to be this uneventful, I have more spare time then I thought," she said, already making mental lists of everything she needed to do.

"What are you going to do then? Read a book?" Ron asked playfully, and nudged her again, this time in her stomach.

"Ho ho ho," she said humourlessly. "What are you planning to do?"

"I want to try out for the Quidditch team again. I hope I get chosen, though."

Hermione snorted and Ron looked up. "What?"

"Oh, please. Your best mate is captain of the team and if I can believe half of the stories you tell me about the last match, you're a good keeper. Do you honestly think you'll have any problems making the team?"

Ron shrugged. "Harry might be my friend, but when it comes to Quidditch, he's dead serious. Which is the appropriate attitude for Quidditch, as I've told you many times." When Hermione kept staring at him he added, "But I have to admit, I might have an advantage." She grinned and shook her head. She had heard from numerous people that Ron had problems with his nerves, especially in relation to Quidditch, but she had never taken his insecurities particularly seriously.

She touched his hand lightly.

"Of course you'll get in."

Ron didn't reply, but held on to her hand a bit longer then necessary. At least, that's how it felt to her.

They walked further down the passage, making their way toward the corridor near the library. As they passed the stairs, they heard some sounds coming from the corridor at her left however. Hermione nodded at Ron, who knew her signals after a year of patrolling with her, and lit his wand. He shone it into the corridor, quickly finding the source of the strange sounds.

Cho Chang and Michael Corner were standing at the end of the corridor, kissing passionately and totally oblivious to the fact that they had been found. Despite the dim light, she could see the tips of Ron's ears turn dark red, and she could feel a flush creeping up her cheeks as well.

Of course they had passed couples before, and of course it had been very awkward, but Ron had technically asked her out on the train, and they had been flirting with each other all evening, so the situation seemed more awkward for them than for the couple at the end of the hall. For a few moments, both of them stared at Cho and Michael, and Hermione vaguely wondered if Ginny would mind that her ex was now dating Harry's. She seemed to be okay last school year, but somehow, Ginny had always been a bit touchy when Harry was dragged into the a conversation when the subject involved romances, so she didn't discuss it much with her, to avoid irritation.

She chanced a glance at Ron, wondering if he was annoyed by the sight of his sister's ex. Then again, Ron had been more bothered by Michael when the Ravenclaw had been his sister's boyfriend. Hermione could almost feel her hormones rushing through her body, and suddenly, she had a vision of herself and Ron, standing at exactly the same spot Cho and Michael were standing now……

With a loud cough, Ron made their presence known. Hermione snapped back to reality and focused on the couple in front of them, who now had… detached. Cho was growing redder by the second, and Michael was avoiding their gazes.

"It's past curfew," she heard herself say. "I suggest you both go to the dorms. Ten points from Ravenclaw, though."

The couple nodded nervously and dashed off in the other direction.

"Let's check out that corridor," Ron said, jerking his head to his left, "and go back after that."

A silence had fallen between them. Hermione was trying to come up with things to say, but for once, she was lost for words. When the turned another corner, she started; "Ron-." But Ron interrupted her.

"Shhhh…" He inclined his head towards the classroom on his right. She looked and saw that there were candles flickering in the room; the light was showing through the gap under the door. Someone was in there.

"Reckon it's another couple?" Ron asked in a whisper. This discovery seemed to have eliminated all the tension between them, though Hermione was sure she could hear a faint note of hesitation in his voice. He probably wasn't looking up to breaking another snogging couple up, but nor, for that matter, was she.

"Well, if they are so pathetic to find a classroom…." She let her voice trail off and heard Ron chuckle.

"The cupboards could have been full," he said.

Ron reached for the handle but Hermione suddenly gripped his arm; a terrible thought had occurred to her.

"Ron, it could also be something else. Be careful," she whispered.

Ron looked at her. She could barely see his face, but his eyes flickered. He nodded.

Ron tried the handle; unsurprisingly, it was unlocked. Slowly opening the door, they both peeked inside. When Hermione saw what, or, rather, who, she'd got so worked up about, she couldn't help but feel a bit stupid. Behind her, she heard Ron let out a breath he'd been holding.

In a haze of ginger hair, a student was resting her head on the first table by the door, obviously sleeping. Her quill had fallen out of her hand on the floor, and she was lying on the parchment she had written on.

"Blimey, it's Ginny! What's she doing here?"

_and that was it for this week...hope you liked it_

_I want to thank everyone who has been reviewing! and thanks to editor Lisa again!_

_Now, before I ramble some more, I have to announce that this story won't be updated for 2 of 3 weeks: My editor and myself are very busy with college the upcoming weeks, and we won't be able to edit the next chapter until the holidays:( _

_Before I get angry reviews about that: Sorry, but those won't make me update any sooner! Editing is really nessicary with me, because English is my second language, and I hate spellingmistakes in other people's work, so I would be a hypocrite if I would let them standing in my own work. __I promise that once it's Chrismas, I'll make it up to you by posting some chapters at the same time, or maybe daily..._

_For now, I just hope you guys will hang in there and wait with me. I can tell you that I'm practically done with writing this story: it will contain proabably 100 chapters or more, so all I can say is that there's still a lot to come! _

_Angry reviews about the story itself, or the happy ones are still welcome, though! I will try and find time to reply to any signed one!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	15. About confronting and fighting

_If JK was Christmas, I would be a little decoration for in the Christmastree_

**15. (about confronting and fighting)**

-Let us make one point, that we meet each other with a smile, when it is difficult to smile. Smile at each other, make time for each other in your family.-

_Mother Teresa of Calcutta_

They walked over to Ginny, and with a tenderness Hermione had rarely seen on Ron, he shook his sister lightly by her shoulder.

"Ginny."

Ginny slowly opened her eyes.

"Huh?"

"Ginny, is everything all right? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked. Her friend looked confused, as though she wasn't entirely sure where she was. Ginny lifted her head, and the parchment she'd been laying on stuck to her left cheek.

"Where am I? What time is it?"

"You're in the Charms classroom. We found you during patrols – it's about eleven-thirty," Ron answered. "But what are you doing here?"

"I… I'm sorry. I was finishing my homework."

"In a deserted classroom? That's forbidden. They're actually supposed to be locked," Hermione said.

"I charmed it open. I had to finish my homework and the common room is too loud. I must've fallen asleep."

"Why? You'll have all of Sunday to do it," Ron said. Hermione scowled. Now he was passing on his awful study habits to his sister. On the other hand, it did seem like Ginny had been overworking herself.

"Dean wants to do something fun tomorrow," Ginny said, hastily grabbing her things and stuffing them into her bag. Now it was Ron's turn to scowl.

"Does he know you're drowning in schoolwork?"

"I'm not… I… Oh, sod off," his sister replied, irritated. Hermione wasn't paying much attention, however. Her eyes had fallen on the huge bags beneath Ginny's eyes, and then on the various essays and pieces of parchment that were scattered around her, waiting to be stuffed in the bag. Something was obviously not right with the youngest Weasley.

"Ginny, Ron's right. You should tell him. I'm sure he wouldn't have planned anything if he knew you were in trouble."

"I'm not in trouble, just a little behind, Hermione." It seemed that the fogginess brought on by her nap was wearing off, and her temper was coming back with a vengeance.

"You are in trouble. You got caught during patrols. What would have happened if somebody else had found you?" Ron said hotly.

"He probably wouldn't have given me a lecture and acted like my mum," Ginny snapped.

Before Ron could reply, Hermione interrupted. "Fortunately, we found you. Ginny, are you sure you're all right?"

Ginny was rubbing her eyes, looking tired and something else Hermione couldn't put her finger on.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied, shoving more of her belongings into her book bag.

"If you're very behind you know you can always come to me," Hermione said, hoping she sounded helpful. Ginny looked at her.

"Thanks, Hermione. I might be doing that. I'm not that behind anymore, though. Caught up on a lot tonight."

"What's this?" Ron suddenly asked, holding up a bunch of parchment. They were essays, covered in the red ink teachers used to grade assignments. But even the reddest ink couldn't compare to the shade of scarlet Ginny had turned.

He handed the stack over to Hermione, who looked at the parchments, then at the redhead before her.

"Are these Dean's old assignments?"

Ron gaped at his sister, and Hermione was sure she looked just as dumbfounded as he. How could Ginny think that writing them over would be a good idea?

"Yeah, they are. He gave them to me. I didn't use them, though," she shrugged.

"What do you mean, you didn't use them? Why were they here, then? And why are you so behind if you just copy your homework?" Hermione couldn't help being angry. Ginny had always been more rebellious then people seemed to think, but copying things straight from Dean hadn't seem to be her style. Surely she must have seen that the overuse of red ink on the assignments weren't signs of work well done?

"Relax, Hermione. Ginny can't have used them. Fred and George told me that Charlie gave his first year-homework to them when they started here. Turns out the teachers change the questions every year." He looked down at his sister. Hermione couldn't tell if he was angry; it was too dark for her to see his ears, the telltale barometer of his mood.

"But you hoped they would help," she said.

"Yes, I did. And I didn't want to disappoint Dean either. Have you seen the amount of homework fifth-years get?"

"I think I can remember last year, yeah," Ron answered sarcastically. Then he added, looking at one of the pieces in his hand, "Blimey, your boyfriend isn't the cleverest, is he? Not only can't he spell 'Cruciatus' right, he also gave you his homework from last year, thinking the teachers wouldn't have already thought of that about a million times.

"Shut up, Ron! At least he can call himself a boyfriend! You're too insensitive and clumsy to become one!" That remark made Ron go red, but it stung Hermione too. Was Ginny only referring to Ron, or was she specifically hinting at the both of them?

"If being a boyfriend means becoming so insensitive that I would let the girl study into the middle of the night just to be able to snog her all the next day, then I wouldn't even want to be one!"

Hermione didn't know what to do. Ginny looked about ready to hex Ron for that statement, but she saw that Ron's hand was already on his wand. Then, quite suddenly and to her surprise, Ginny deflated.

"Whatever Ron."

She grabbed her bag and almost ran out of the classroom.

_-_

_short, and not a lot happening, but still important for the story! I'm back people, and I will try to upload weekly again..._

_On my Laptop, the story's almost done.. I'm hoping to finish it before January, but that doesn't mean that there's still a crapload of editing and uploading:)_

_thanks to Lisa, the beta!_

_And thanks to alle the people who have reviewed me! As always, you guys will always get a reply and stimulate me to write!_

_Merry X-mas!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	16. About silencing and ranting

_If JK was New Year´s Eve, I would be only one glass of Champange that night..._

_(for anybody who doesn´t get this: it's for as far as I know a Dutch tradition to drink it on 12 o'clock.)_

**16. (about silencing and ranting)**

-Never give advice unless asked.-

_German Proverb_

Ron glanced at Hermione, dumbfounded, but she refused to meet his eyes. She wasn't sure who had been the less sensitive of the two of them.

Sighing, she shook her head. "Let's go."

With a wave of her wand, she extinguished the candles, but was too deep in thought to appreciate her use of non-verbal magic.

Ron followed her out of the classroom.

"Hermione—"

"Don't," she interrupted him.

They walked through the quiet castle in complete silence, but inside her head, voices were screaming. Sure, Ginny had been rude, but Ron had almost forced it with his uncharitable comments about Dean. But he had been right; Dean was stupid if he would think something like that would have worked. On the other hand, she didn't know it either. Did Ron think she was stupid too? Was Dean really that desperate for Ginny's kisses? And Ginny could always have said 'no' to Dean, or at least been nicer to Ron when he had made such a remark about it…

Her head hurt when they arrived at the Fat Lady.

She gave the password and turned to enter, but Ron took her arm.

"Hermione—" he tried again.

"Apologize to Ginny. She's far too stubborn to start making apologies, but if you start, I'm sure she will apologize too," she interrupted him. She suddenly felt very tired. She climbed through the portrait. Ron followed.

"Are you mad?" he asked.

"No, just shocked. I didn't know you two could be so awful," she answered.

"But Dean—"

"Dean is acting like a boyfriend – which is what he is – and you were acting like her brother – which is what you are," she interrupted again. "As long as he's dating Ginny, you won't like him. Even if those essays hadn't been his, and he wasn't the reason Ginny was out after curfew doing homework, you still would have managed to say it's his fault. Ginny should have never reacted so harshly, though. She should've never listened to you in the first place."

Ron looked at her. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"Just promise me you'll make up. You have to accept the fact that Ginny is growing up. It's her own responsibility to sleep, eat and finish her homework. Not yours. And I never want to give such motherly advice to you again," she added, already smiling slightly despite herself. Staying mad at Ron was almost impossible.

"She's just so…," Ron couldn't find the right word for it.

"Stubborn?" Hermione tried. "Yeah, a lot of people have problems with that," she said softly.

"I mean, I just know that that bloke isn't any good for her! Hell, even she realised it tonight! And yet she takes it out on me-"

"You were being insensitive. Could have said it more gently."

"I suppose," he grumbled a bit ashamed.

Hermione looked around and saw that the common room was deserted. A glance at her watch told her that it was almost midnight, and she suspected that Harry had already gone to bed.

"I don't know if Harry's already gone up, but I'm too tired to stay up and check. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear what happened. I'm going to bed," she stated. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ron said. Hermione expected him to turn around and walk over to the boys' stairs, but instead he leaned in her direction, suddenly coming very close. Hermione held her breath – was he really going to do what she thought he was going to do? – but then she suddenly felt two long arms wrap around her in a huge hug. She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but her heart fluttered nonetheless.

He then walked out of the room, as if it had been the most normal thing to do.

Hermione, still a bit light-headed and dizzy, walked up the staircase. She actually wanted to lie down and think of nothing else but that hug, but she knew she also had to take care of something. Taking the fifth door instead of the sixth, she entered the bedroom that was exactly the same as hers, but belonged to the fifth years.

"Ginny, I know you're still awake."

She heard some mumbled curses coming from the bed at her right. The curtains were being opened and Ginny, already in her pyjamas, sat upright on the blankets, looking anything but sleepy.

"What?" the girl asked a bit rudely.

"Come on. I want to talk."

Ginny climbed out her bed and followed Hermione out of dormitories, into the common room.

There, she sat them down on the squashy couch nearest the fire.

"Ginny, what happened back there?"

"You saw how my brother was being his usual prattish self. I think you should have known that attitude by now."

"Oh, stop it. We both know Ron had a valid point. What were you thinking, doing your homework in a forbidden classroom in the middle of the night?"

"I was thinking: Hm, what would scare my brother and his future bride-to-be the most? Let's sit in a forbidden classroom in the middle of the night, while I try to finish my homework! It's not as if I thought I would be falling asleep, considering how well I've been sleeping lately."

Hermione knew that letting Ginny rant for a bit would make her open up later. Still, the sarcastic and harsh remarks stung her a bit.

"Not sleeping?" she asked, focusing on this new information.

"Yeah, not sleeping. As in 'insomnia'. As in 'dreaming and waking up in the middle of the night, panting, sweating'. As in 'not wanting to go to bed any more because of the nightmares'. As in 'wishing there was a spell to get rid of the dreams about Tom Riddle springing out of a diary'. That sort of 'not sleeping'." She glared at Hermione for a moment, then deflated.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The girl in front of her nodded. Hermione took a deep breath – it seemed as if for now the motherly advise would have to stay a little longer.

_ugh... I hate this chapter... It's too short (I can almost hear the reviewers scream at me) and for now, it looks like there isn't much happening here. Which there isn't, but you guys have to read this before you can understand what will happen in some of the upcoming chapters. _

_As always, thanks to Lisa, who tried to make this chapter a little bit more appealing by at least deleting the spelling and grammar mistakes XD_

_And by the __way, Happy New Year!! Hope you guys will stick to this story as faithfully as you did in 2007!!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	17. About confessing and parenting

_If JK were a final exam, I would be the wrong answer written by a student (-can't come up with a better one, but let's just say this quote has something to do with this week)_

**17. (About confessing and parenting)**

-It's the friends you can call up at four a.m. that matter. -

_Marlene Dietrich_

She hated when Hermione did that. The girl had obviously spent too much time with her family. She knew exactly how she had to get Ginny to talk. But, realizing that fighting against it would be rather useless, she nodded, and started to speak.

"Remember I told you about how I had nightmares when I was in my second year, but that Professor Lupin helped me get rid of them?"

Hermione nodded.

"Well, this week they came back. I've tried everything, but the fact remains that ever since last Monday, I've been waking up in the middle of the night, panting, sweating and terrified," she said. Her voice was quieter than it had been. She looked up to see that Hermione was no longer sitting across from her, but moved over to sit next to her.

"Suzie actually woke me up yesterday. She said that she had heard me screaming. It was the second this week." Hermione nodded, and put an arm around her.

"What did Professor Lupin say?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"I don't know anymore. He said that I had to clear my mind. Think about nothing. But he mostly talked to me, about how it wasn't my fault and that sort of stuff. I don't know… somehow, it helped and the dreams went away."

"Is there something bothering you at the moment? You're obviously stressed about your homework," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Evelyn was acting all weird last week. I found out last night what's bothering her: Her house got destroyed by giants this summer and now her mum actually doesn't want her here anymore. But I don't see how Evelyn's misery is affecting me so much." They were both quiet for a while. Ginny saw that Hermione was a bit shocked by the Evelyn-news.

"Feeling a bit guilty about it, perhaps?" Hermione suggested after a while.

"I suppose. I could have written a letter, or paid more attention to her…."

"Ginny," Hermione said sternly, "she could have also contacted you! The responsibility goes both ways."

"She felt I was too busy for her to bother me. Do I really give that impression?"

"Well, I suppose you could write more, but that's just got something to do with your first year, and Evelyn knows that you have problems with that," Hermione pondered. "But you just said you guys made up yesterday. Why can you still not sleep properly?"

Ginny shrugged.

"I suppose that was the homework-stress. I just—"

"Didn't know it would be so much in your fifth year? Yes," she continued when Ginny nodded, "Harry and Ron had the same problem the first two weeks. Just try to keep up, or ask for help when you don't understand it. Trust me; you just have to get accustomed to it."

Ginny nodded again, not sure how to take that advice. What worked for Hermione probably wouldn't work for her.

"What are your most difficult subjects?"

"Herbology and Ancient Runes."

"I'm not a star in Herbology myself either. You could ask Neville for help on that."

"That would be nice," Ginny said, feeling more relaxed at the thought of some guidance.

"And for Ancient Runes you can always ask me. I would like to help you out – it'll help me review last year."

Ginny felt the muscles in her neck relax a bit. It sometimes was rather nice to have a bossy friend with a love for doing homework.

"What do you have to finish before Monday?"

"Two assignments that aren't hard, but then there's a Muggle Studies essay I have to do some research for."

"I can help you with that, too," she suggested, but Ginny bowed her head.

"I was supposed to meet Dean tomorrow."

It didn't seem fair to Hermione that she still wanted to do something fun tomorrow, while Hermione was planning and helping her so much.

"Well, ask if you could do something late in the afternoon. If you get some sleep now and don't sleep in too late in bed tomorrow, you might even be able to finish before lunch."

"I think I'll do that. Thanks, Hermione."

A silence fell. Ginny wanted to apologize to Hermione for what had happened with Ron, but was too ashamed to say anything. Hermione still had some of Dean's essay in her hand.

"What are you going to do with those?" she asked quietly.

"Will Dean get annoyed if you don't return them?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't think I care. Those things have caused me too much trouble to be bothered about what Dean might say when he doesn't get them back."

Hermione, though it looked like it took her a lot of effort, nodded and then threw the papers into the fire were they slowly burned, crumpling into little black pieces. Her expression suggested burning homework, no matter whose, was not something she ever wanted to do.

"Sorry about tonight," Ginny said, turning her eyes from the flames and back to Hermione's face. Hermione shrugged.

"You're both too temperamental for your own good. Just apologize to him tomorrow. He can't help being your brother. Sometimes he forgets that you're old enough to take care of yourself."

"Yeah, well, he was right tonight, wasn't he? I would have been worried if he had fallen asleep on that table."

Hermione nodded.

Both of the girls looked at each other and a silence fell again.

Ginny felt relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She just needed to know one little thing to be completely relaxed and ready to go to bed.

"Is Harry still using that potions book?"

Hermione frowned immediately and nodded.

"I don't think it's hexed, though. The writer was obviously dodgy, but isn't locked up in that book or asking Harry to commit his soul to the pages. Try not to worry about that, Ginny. Harry has enough other people watching him closely to find out if it's a trap, without you worrying too."

With that, the other girl stood up and bade her goodnight. Ginny wondered if she could ever make such a good mother as Hermione had been tonight.

_-_

_Don't like the last sentence, but it has to do. Just as the last chapter, I don't lke what it contains, but just as the last chapter, this needs to be told. Ah well. _

_Sorry for the late update: I'm busy with my finals: Let's just say that it's hard remembering other things at the moment, that don't contain pieces of Dutch History or Ancient History:P_

_thanks as always to editor Lisa and to all the wonderfull reviews I got last week!_

_keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	18. About destressing and applying

_If JK was Perikles (aka: an ancient Greek) I would be one of her humble slaves (I'm studying Ancient History atm)_

**18. (About de-stressing and applying)**

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."

_Albert Einstein_

It was a strange experience for Ginny when, the next day, her brother walked straight up to her and apologized, although she was quite sure Hermione had to do something with that too. She had her homework finished by two o'clock the next day, and her relief was compounded by the nightmare-free night she'd had. She and Dean decided to go to the pitch that afternoon: neither of them knew when Harry was going to hold tryouts, but she hoped it would be soon.

To her surprise, Dean had announced his intention to try for Chaser. Ginny had never seen him fly, or express any more interest in Quidditch than the average wizard, but after an afternoon on the pitch, she could see that Dean was actually pretty good. He needed some improvement, and she knew that if she tried, she could out-fly him, but he definitely had a chance. She hoped he would be on the Quidditch team. It was nice to know that at least one of the other Chasers would like her a lot.

After two hours, it started to rain and they decided to go back. Hand in hand, they walked through the corridors, taking a shortcut on the second floor. Then Dean suddenly halted; Ginny wasn't sure what was going on, but as she opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, she felt his lips on hers, and they stumbled to the nearest corner.

She hadn't kissed Dean this fiercely in a long time, and was suddenly quite aware of how much she had missed it. Her hands travelled automatically to his hair and, judging by the way he was kissing her back, he'd missed it too. Pulling away for air (though it seemed like a really unnecessary thing at the moment) she stared at him.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hi," she whispered.

It seemed that there were a few more reasons for her to want Dean on the Quidditch team. Getting more of these stolen moments with him wouldn't be a waste.

The week seemed to rush by, and with the tips from Hermione and Neville, Ginny felt most of the stress she'd been feeling evaporate.

Harry had scheduled the try-outs for the upcoming Saturday, and Ginny had skipped lunch to practise. She was already pretty confident that she would make the team, but it was still fun to fly and she had really missed it over the summer. Of course she had snuck out occasionally, but it seemed that as the war intensified, her mother somehow grew extra eyes and was everywhere at once.

On her way back from practise, she ran into Professor Slughorn.

"Oho, if it isn't young Miss Weasley!"

"Hello, Professor," she answered politely.

"I didn't know you liked to fly! Are you any good?"

"I'm all right," she said, not wanting to sound arrogant.

"Of course you are! By the by, I'm having a little gathering tomorrow evening, in my office. Care to join me and some other guests?"

Ginny would have gladly said 'no'. She expected that the gathering would contain a lot of the same people from the train, and she really didn't want to spend her free evening with such people if she could avoid it. But how could she turn him down politely? When he saw that she was hesitating, he answered for her.

"I'm expecting you! If you like flying and Quidditch so much, I have a rather interesting story about Gwenog Jones! I'm sure I could introduce you to her some day! But we're starting around eight. I hope I shall see you!"

"Um… okay, see you then, sir," Ginny said. She had to give the man credit for persuading; she wasn't even sure she had said "yes" at all.

The Quidditch try-outs for the Gryffindor team started at ten o'clock that following morning, and she and Dean walked hand in hand to the pitch. When they arrived, Ginny thought she was still dreaming. Her eyes widened in surprise when she overlooked the scene.

It seemed as if the whole house had suddenly fallen in love with Quidditch. There were people who had brought their own brooms and looked quite serious about wanting to try out, but there were more people who seemed like they didn't belong on the pitch at all. Some first years looked as if they had never seen a broom in the first place, and were all grouping around one curiously, poking it as if it was a strange plant. Then there were some Ravenclaws, who were applying their make-up as though preparing for a beauty contest. A group of Hufflepuff girls seemed to be skipping frantically through some books about flying, while at the other side of the pitch, some third years were fighting for the last school brooms.

"Blimey," Dean said next to her, "I didn't know Quidditch try-outs were this popular."

"I don't think Quidditch is, Dean. I think it has more to do with the Quidditch Captain."

Harry was standing and talking to McLaggen, who seemed to be trying to talk his way onto the team. Harry brushed him off, and yelled at everyone to gather around. He had a whistle on his neck, and seemed rather surprised that so many people had attended. Ginny saw that Hermione was taking her place in the stands, and when the girl noticed she was looking in her direction, she signalled a thumbs up.

"Right… Well, welcome to the Quidditch try-outs. I'd like to start with a basic test. Could you all divide up in groups of ten and stand over there, please?"

He spoke in the same tone as he'd used with the DA last year. Hesitant, but determined. She was suddenly very sure that McGonagall couldn't have chosen anyone better for captain this year.

Ginny and Dean were grouped with Seamus, Katie Bell, and Demelza Robins, a fourth year whom Ginny remembered vaguely as being nice to her when she had dropped some seen in the corridor by accident. The rest of their ten contained the annoying Ravenclaws she had spotted before. They got marked as the 6th group, and sat in the grass at the sidelines while they waited for their turn.

Ginny saw that although there were many people, there weren't many to compete against: most of the people who normally wouldn't show up had come, and it was clear to her that the first group (which contained the first years Ginny seen poking a broom) had indeed never flown before. One boy was so surprised he managed to get the broom in the air that he immediately crashed, and many real fans of Quidditch had to swallow a lump in their throats when they saw the remains of what had been such a fine school broom.

"Next!"

Ginny recognized Romilda Vane and some of her cronies in the second group. It seemed that they were all quite nervous, but not for Quidditch. Their nerves were apparently related to Harry. Ginny sighed. At least she had had a crush on Harry when he hadn't been famous in school and people were avoiding him because they thought he was the Heir of Slytherin. Which, ironically, she had been. When he blew his whistle, one of the girls made a remark, and before anyone could blink, all the girls had dissolved into fits of the giggles. Harry asked them to leave the pitch and they didn't seem unhappy about that at all. Enthusiastic that he had spoken to them at all, they sat in the stands. Ginny's eye found Hermione, sitting near McLaggen and scowling. When she waved, the other girl didn't wave back.

"What's wrong with her?" Dean asked, following her gaze.

"Oh, probably sulking that this is going to take a while and she's realised she ought to have brought a book," she joked.

"Next!"

The third group was all second years. Ginny saw that they were looking just as insecure as the first years, but at least they managed to stay in the air. That was, until one of them halted in mid-air, and two or three who were following all piled up behind him. Harry was massaging his temples. She glanced at her watch. Already an hour had passed. If the other groups took as long as these first few, she might be able to skip Slughorn's party after all…

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_And here's my chapter for this week! The following chapters will be about the Quidditch-selection. I might have written too much or too detailed about it, but I really liked to write it. I mean, we all know that Hermione isn't scowling beacause she only forgot to bring a book with her. ;-) And it's nice to write some interaction between Ginny and Harry. _

_Thanks to all the reviewers and my editor, Lisa._

_Reviews are, as always, very very very welcome and always get a personal reply. ;-p_

_x-mokimik-x_


	19. About admiring and competing

_If JK was a photo, I would be a tiny pixel. _

**19. (About admiring and competing)**

-You always admire what you really don't understand.-  
_Eleanor Roosevelt_

By the week after Ginny's meltdown, Hermione had mastered several non-verbal spells. At least that was something she could still beat Harry in. Both of the boys seemed to have great difficulties with it, and she tried to help them, but so far, neither of them had really succeeded.

It had been shocking to see how much Ginny had panicked over her work-load, but telling her sixth year was easier would have been a downright lie Though they wouldn't have NEWT's at the end of the year, it seemed as if the teachers had wanted her to have it now; she could barely finish her essay for extra credit the upcoming week, and saw that Ron and Harry were also almost drowning in their own workload.

Harry had told them both exactly what he and Dumbledore had done the previous evening. Hermione had been so curious about everything that she had forgotten to tell Harry about everything that had happened, but in hindsight was glad she hadn't said anything. Ginny probably didn't want everyone knowing about her breakdown.

She should have guessed that Dumbledore was giving Harry information about Voldemort's past. It would probably be the key to his downfall and it was always helpful to know things about the enemy. She was flattered to hear that Dumbledore trusted them enough to be told about what Harry was learning, but she wasn't sure she could keep this information from Ginny. She knew Ginny had a pretty shrewd idea about the contents of the prophecy, and that it wasn't as wrong as she and Ron had claimed it was. The girl was quite good at figuring things out, but Hermione knew that this had to stay a secret. She wasn't too worried, though: it wasn't as if she talked much about Harry with the Weasley girl. Ginny always seemed to be a bit flustered, probably still embarrassed about her crush.

The person she _was_ worried about was Hagrid. He hadn't attended any meals since the first week, and when they saw him in the corridors, he didn't return their greetings, pretending that he hadn't heard them. The next Saturday, she talked about it with Ron and Harry.

"We've got to go and explain," she said during breakfast.

"We've got Quidditch tryouts this morning!" said Ron. "_And_ we're supposed to be practicing that Aguamenti Charm from Flitwick! Anyway, explain what? How are we going to tell him we hated his stupid subject?"

"We didn't hate it!" said Hermione, though she did know what Ron meant.

"Speak for yourself, I haven't forgotten the skrewts," said Ron darkly. "And I'm telling you now, we've had a narrow escape. You didn't hear him going on about his gormless brother — we'd have been teaching Grawp how to tie his shoelaces if we'd stayed."

She could tell Ron wasn't in the mood to talk, but she really didn't want Hagrid to go on ignoring them. Just because they were no longer taking his class didn't mean he wasn't their friend.

"I hate not talking to Hagrid."

"We'll go down after Quidditch," Harry assured her. "But trials might take all morning, the number of people who have applied." Hermione heard a nervous tone in his voice and she looked up as he said, "I dunno why the team's this popular all of a sudden."

That surprised her. Was Harry serious? But then, Ron looked surprised too. Really, didn't boys gossip at all? When Hermione had gone to the toilets the day before, she had been caught by at least three fourth-years, all of whom wanted to know what Harry's favourite food was, what his zodiac-sign was and if his eyes were more emerald green or grass green.

"Oh, come on, Harry," she replied. "It's not _Quidditch_ that's popular, it's you! You've never been more interesting, and frankly, you've never been more fanciable."

Harry's jaw dropped. Ron choked on a bit of his food, and Hermione looked at him, slightly annoyed, before turning back to Harry.

"Everyone knows you've been telling the truth now, don't they? The whole Wizarding world has had to admit that you were right about Voldemort being back and that you really have fought him twice in the last two years and escaped both times. And now they're calling you 'the Chosen One' – well, come on, can't you see why people are fascinated by you?"

Harry was looking around as though the Great Hall had suddenly become far too small. Hermione was amazed that Harry had been so oblivious, but then again, it had been normal for him to hear whispers when he walked by. Only now, the whispers were all admiring and positive. She went on, quoting a fifth-year Ravenclaw almost verbatim.

"And you've been through all that persecution from the Ministry when they were trying to make out you were unstable and a liar. You can still see the marks on the back of your hand where that evil woman made you write with your own blood, but you stuck to your story anyway…."

Ron interrupted her. "You can still see where those brains got hold of me in the Ministry, look," he said, rolling back his sleeves. Hermione didn't want to look – she knew they were there and didn't want to be reminded of what had happened in May.

"And it doesn't hurt that you've grown about a foot over the summer either," she finished.

"I'm tall," said Ron, apropos of nothing.

She smiled at him, but Ron was already distracted. The post owls had arrived.

Hermione had noticed that Lavender and Parvati weren't speaking much to her anymore. They never had been on close terms, but now it seemed that every time she entered the dormitory, their conversations would break off in mid-sentence. Hermione didn't much care that they were ignoring her: what worried her more were the glances Lavender had been throwing Ron the whole week, and the way she fluttered her eye-lashes every time she walked by Harry and Ron. Somehow, Hermione had the weird feeling that Lavender was one of the only girls in the school who was fluttering her lashes not at Harry, but at the boy walking next to him. It made her rather uneasy. She had never had competition over Ron, and wasn't sure how to react to it. It was also very unnerving that she didn't know what she and Ron were at the moment. Friends? Or did he really like her back? He didn't seem to know either, and she really couldn't have Lavender putting pressure on that.

When they walked to the Quidditch pitch for the try-outs that morning, it happened again. Parvati nudged Lavender when they walked by, and she looked up and smiled broadly at Ron. To her surprise, Ron smiled unsurely back, but then found some confidence as he walked off with his broom over his shoulder, almost strutting. Harry had noticed too, but he merely looked amused. She was suddenly very annoyed and would rather have walked back to read a book instead of watching those two buffoons playing Quidditch.

Boys were stupid.

And girls who liked the boy one liked weren't on her favourites list either.

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_And for no appereant reason, this chapter isn't chronological in order with the rest of the story. For those f you who got confused: this chapter actually has to be placed between 17 and 18. As I said, I can't think of any reason why I did this: probably because else you would get a lot of the same pov-chapters after each other. I might cange the order some day, but for now, I don't hate it that much and I'm lazy ;-)_

_Hope you guys liked this chapter. Not much happening, I know, but just some collective thoughts and one of the scenes right out of the book, which I liked very much. I'm talkiing of course about the "I'm tall!"comment. Didn't want to leave that out for you and my own pleasure._

_Thanks to Lisa, and the wonderful reviewers I got for the last chapter!_

_Reviews for this chapter, as always, make me happy. I need happyness: I'm a student, busy with her finals (yes, still!) and January always puts me into a funk. Not a good funk. January doesn't have a holiday, and date-less as I am, I'm not looking forward to February's Holiday. _

_Okay, to much info. In short: Review!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	20. About flying and chasing

_If JK were a holiday, I would only be one drop of water near the swimming pool in the sun-lit days. _

**20. (About flying and chasing)**

-Sport is a very important subject at school, that's why I gave Quidditch such an important place at Hogwarts. I was very bad in sports, so I gave Harry a talent I would really loved to have. Who wouldn't want to fly?-

_JK Rowling _

"Next!"

Ginny could tell by Harry's voice that he was thoroughly annoyed. She really couldn't blame him: the fourth group had come without broomsticks.

The group that had been sitting beside Ginny jumped up, and walked to the pitch.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Harry asked a fourth-year boy, who was wearing a Hufflepuff tie.

"Trying out?" the boy asked.

"Hand up if you're a Gryffindor," Harry demanded. All the hands stayed down.

"If there's anyone else here who's not from Gryffindor," roared Harry in the direction of the other people who had come, "leave now, please!"

Ginny looked at the Ravenclaws in her group, who had been fussing over Harry's horoscope half an hour ago, and were now braiding each other's hair. They were all quiet for a moment, and glanced nervously, until one of the girls nodded and stood up.

"I'm glad we don't have to actually fly," one of them squeaked, and the rest snorted with laughter when they left the field. Ginny rolled her eyes and saw Dean grin. She knew he had been overwhelmed by the amount of competition, but now that the fifth group in a row had been dismissed, he seemed to be more confident.

"Next!" Harry bellowed at them. Ginny stood up, and stretched. It was time to fly a bit.

"Where's the rest of the group?" he asked, looking them over.

"That were the Ravenclaws you just shooed away," she explained. Harry looked at her, and Ginny thought she could see a flicker of a smile playing around his lips.

"All right. Take one lap around the pitch on your brooms and then come back and tell me which position you're trying out for."

All of them nodded and mounted their brooms, but they seemed to be waiting for a signal from Harry before starting. Ginny, realising Harry wasn't going to say anything, kicked off.

"Coming?" she yelled at Dean when she was ten feet up in the air.

Dean also kicked off, but before he reached Ginny, she had started her lap. When she landed, Harry was nodding approvingly at her.

"I guess that makes me the first to do a decent lap, doesn't it?" she asked.

"Don't start about it," he said a bit darkly, but then grinned, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, what position do you want? Seeker's already taken," he said, still smiling. "Can't give you your old position."

"Never mind, I didn't like Seeking that much. I only did it because someone was stupid enough to get banned from Quidditch," she replied. Harry laughed. "I'm trying for Chaser." He scribbled it on the parchment, as the rest of the group landed and walked over. He noted what they wanted to be, and then nodded to an empty place at his left.

"Please sit there and wait until I've seen the others." After that, he walked away.

'You fly really well, Ginny," Seamus said.

"Thanks!"

"You could have waited, though," Dean said more quietly. "Now it looks like the rest of us weren't that good."

"Of course not! And anyway, it wasn't as if Harry was really looking that closely! He's just trying to separate the non-flyers from the people that are seriously applying," she explained, but that didn't seem to make Dean feel any better.

There were five more groups left to fly around above the pitch, and by the time they were finished, the place for the serious applicants had become quite crowded. About fifteen people were trying out for the Chasers, about eighteen for the two Beating positions and seven were standing in a group for Keeper, among them her brother, who was looking fairly green.

The Chasers were to go first. In groups of five, they had to catch the Quaffles Harry threw at them. Dean was put in the first group, and did pretty well, though he dropped one almost at the end. Ginny was placed in the second group. When she kicked off, and caught the first Quaffle Harry threw, she felt that this would be her lucky day. She really, really wanted to be chosen. Seamus was also in the second group, but he wasn't that good; he dropped the quaffle about three times, and Harry hadn't thrown the Quaffle with much effort, as he had with her and Katie, who had also caught everything.

When the last group had been up in the air, Harry landed and walked up to them.

"Okay. You, you, you, you and you—" he pointed at Ginny, "please stand over there. The rest of you guys—I'm sorry, but you aren't selected. Please leave the field."

Some of the would-be-Chasers looked pretty angry at Harry, but he didn't seem to notice. The hesitation in his voice was gone and he really looked as if he knew what he was doing. She glanced around to see that the group of Chasers now included Katie, Demelza, Dean, a fourth-year she vaguely thought was named Mark, and herself. Only two more people would be eliminated….

"Okay, I need to see all of you aim and score. So if you could fly up one at a time, and throw the Quaffle through the hoops on the left, that would be great. I'm going to release the Bludgers too, but there aren't any Beaters around, so it really comes down on avoiding them. In the meantime, I will try to be the opposing Chaser. Does everyone know what he or she has to do?" He looked around, and Ginny nodded. "Great. Okay, uh... Dean, you're first."

Dean climbed his broom and shot Ginny a glance.

"Good luck!" she said.

Dean needed more than good luck. Harry proved immediately to the people on the ground that he wouldn't make it easy for his future Chasers and Dean had let the Quaffle fall and been hit by a Bludger within a minute after he had kicked off. It was rather painful for Ginny to see him doing so poorly, but eventually, Dean scored once, though Harry didn't seem to make the actual scoring very difficult.

'You did pretty well, Dean!" she lied when he landed.

"It's harder then I thought," he said, rubbing his shoulder where the Bludger had hit him.

"Demelza Robins, you're next!" Harry yelled from above them.

"I'm curious to see how you do, it's pretty hard!" Dean said.

Ginny knew he had meant well with that remark, but felt a pang of annoyance. The fact that he had barely managed to stay on his broom didn't mean it was hard! In fact, it was more likely to mean he wasn't good enough! She knew that she was being unreasonable, and looked up at Demelza, who had just scored for the first time. The audience clapped. She glanced at Dean next to her, and noticed that he was looking anywhere except at Demelza, who was already doing better than Dean, in the few seconds she had been up.

But no matter how much Ginny hoped that Dean would make the team, it was no use. When her name was called last and she walked over to the pitch, she knew that each of the other three applicants had flown much better than Dean.

A whistle was audible, and she looked up to where Harry was hovering.

"Coming, Ginny? Or are you just as bad at Chasing as you were at Seeking this summer in the garden?"

She stuck out her tongue, and Harry grinned, as he always did when he flew. Ginny kicked off the ground and flew up to his level. Harry was going to be sorry for that comment…

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_Yeah, I know there is just not enough Ginny/Harry interaction. I had this whole sarcastic dialogue written out for them, but then I decided I should save that for when they are really are together. Unfortunately for you guys, that won't happen for a lot of chapters ;-) I hoped you could still appreciate this piece._

_huzah! The 20th chapter! Time to celebrate. You guys would make me really happy if you would give me some critisism: What is your favorite dialogue? And whom, in your opinion, do I write better? Hermione or Ginny? Which characters are most canon-written? Which aren't? and which chapter do you like, uptil now, best? _

_Of course you don't have to answer all my questions. Quoting Sparrow (and Elisabeth): "They're more like guidelines anyway." Just telling me that you like, or don't like my story is always possible too ;-)_

_As a gift to you, I will give a personal reply to each of you and a shout-out with all the names of the reviewers in my next chapter!_

_Huge thanks to Lisa, my Beta, my penpall. And of course to all the reviewers from the last chapter!_

_'till next week! A short Hermione-pov chapter!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	21. About boasting and annoying

_If JK was Medieval History, I would make Charles the Great my major._

**21. (about boasting and annoying) **

-[Revenge is sweeter far than flowing honey.-  
_Homer_

Hermione really didn't enjoy herself. It was raining lightly and she was sitting next to the most irritating boy she had ever met. She had hoped that McLaggen would leave and find someone else to annoy after he proved he could fly around the pitch, but apparently he hadn't picked up on her irritation, because he came back and sat in the same spot when the try-outs for the Chasers began.

Hermione could not remember why she had agreed to come and watch this in the first place; she was already kicking herself mentally for forgetting to bring a book, and now she was too busy letting McLaggen know that she really wasn't interested in his analysis of the last Harpies match to watch much of what was going on.

However, when the tryouts for the Chasers started, Hermione looked up. She saw that Ginny was still in the race, and beamed. The girl would obviously make the team; even she could see that Ginny was in her element today and far superior to some of the other people still in the race.

McLaggen seemed to have followed her gaze.

"Oh, the Weasley girl is still in? That's strange, I ought to have a word with Potter about that, once I'm in."

"What do you mean, strange?" Hermione snapped. She didn't even look at McLaggen, but towards Lavender, who was waving merrily at Ron.

"Well, she obviously doesn't fly that well. Look how she is holding her hands on that broom. And her feet are also dangling too much, she has to keep them steadier in the air, else she'll lose her balance."

Hermione didn't answer. She didn't know if Cormac was right, but knew that all Ginny's brothers had been in awe of her flying skills this summer. She had even given Harry a run for his money; if he hadn't had a better broom, Ginny would likely have outflown him multiple times.

"Of course you might not be able to see it, it takes some Quidditch experience to really notice those things," he added. Hermione still didn't answer. She was fuming, and wondered how long it would take her before she would blow up. She kept her eyes fixed on her red-haired friend, who was speeding up in the air, blocking Harry and laughing. Even from here, Hermione could see that Harry was impressed again by Ginny's talent. She looked at Ron. His hair was standing up against the wind, and though he was a bit pale, he somehow looked taller, standing there with his broom on his shoulder. She waved at him, and Ron put his hand up.

"Oh, I forgot, you're friends with the other Weasely, right? Does he think he stands a chance today?"

"What do you mean?" she asked angrily.

"Well, you saw him fly last year. He's really not that good, is he?"

"Didn't you see his last match?" she replied haughtily, not wanting to admit that she herself actually hadn't.

"Oh, I suppose he had some luck in the final, yeah," Cormac said arrogantly. "But I still would have outflown him. I mean, he's got the same problem as his sister," he nodded towards Ginny. "His hands are always in the wrong position. You aren't stable that way. Anyway, he can improve his technique this yearbwith all the free time he will get. No way will he beat me in Keeping."

Hermione tried to ignore him, she really did, but this boy was driving her crazy. At least Malfoy knew they didn't like him and stayed out of their way! How could this boy ever be considered a Gryffindor? Arrogance and foolhardiness were apparently the other side of bravery. The audience clapped again when Ginny scored for the fourth time.

"Aren't they living on some sort of farm? What's it called? The Nest?"

"The Burrow," she replied coldly. "And it's not a farm, it's a house held up by magic. I think it's great."

"Sure, whatever," McLaggen said. "Oh, I have to go. A friend of mine is applying for Beater, I said I would wish him luck before he flies again. See you around!"

With that, McLaggen stood up. Hermione sighed in relief. She was sure that if he hadn't left, his next comment would've earned him a hex. She really had to ask Ginny how you could improve a Bat-Bogey-Hex. That would've been just the right hex to deflate that ego.

Ginny scored again.

"Was that her sixth or seventh goal?" a Ravenclaw next to her asked her friend. Hermione smiled.

"I don't know. She will definitely make the team. Have you seen any flaws?"

"No. I wish I could be on the team, though. Harry's great!"

"Yeah, he's such a good flyer," the other girl replied in awe.

Hermione stared at the girls. She knew that Harry was popular, but this was downright ridiculous. Since when was her friend able to turn girls into spineless puddings? Had she missed something?

_Then again_, she thought, as she looked over at Lavender and scowled at her for merely existing, _since when was Ron able to do that with people other then me_?

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_This chapter annoys me. It's too short. It's too predictable. Not much happens. I promise that the next Hermione-chapter is better. No, actually, I know the next one is better: I already wrote it and it will be chapter 23 ;p it's longer and has great flashbacks to this chapter. That's why I needed this one. _

_Shout-out to my signed reviewers of last week, who all gave me the feeling I'm doing something usefull here:_

_**--Tiffany M--Woolongong Shimmy--MioneRocks--PantherAnimagi--Beatrice Potter--Helenao--Christipotter--**_

_only 7... :( Well, I guess I should see it as a lucky number! Thanks guys!_

_Next chapter is between a certain mr. Potter and a certain Weasley. No, it's not Ron. I hope you will like that chapter as much as I did writing it... _

_keep reading! Oh, and a review won't hurt. No really. If you wan't to shoot them, go ahead; I have my bullet-proof-kevlar-vest right here under my chair! (and the prize for the lamest joke ever goes to...)_

_x-mokimik-x_


	22. About scoring and selecting

**22. (about scoring and beating)**

-Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The Eternal-

_Dante Alighieri _

"Score!" she heard herself scream, when for the sixteenth time the ball flew through one of the hoops Harry had been defending. "What did you say about not being able to Chase?"

Harry shook his head and grinned. He dived to grab the Quaffle that was now soaring to the ground, but Ginny had a better idea. Avoiding a Bludger (though just barely, she still had to work on that) she dived as well. Right under her Captain-to-be's nose, she grabbed the Quaffle, soared up, and threw it into the hoops again.

"Okay, okay, you win!" Harry said, when he heard the people in the stands laugh and clap.

"So I'm in?" she asked enthusiastically. She hadn't felt this alive in a long time.

"I haven't said that!" he said hastily, scanning for people who might have heard. "But you are," he quietly said when she followed him to the ground to land. She grinned.

"Thanks! You're doing great, by the way!" They landed, and Ginny walked back with him to the others.

"As a Chaser?" he laughed. "Please! That's a downright lie, since you just scored seventeen times under my nose!"

"I meant as a Captain," she said more seriously.

"Oh," Harry replied, and seemed pleased with her compliment. "Thanks."

"Katie, Demelza and Ginny," he said, when they had gathered around him, "You're in. You need some improving, but you all fly really well. Dean and Mark, I'm sorry, but for now, I can't give you a spot on the team. You were both really good though, I'd like to keep you as a reserve for when one of the other ones fall out."

Ginny glanced at Dean, who looked disappointed, but nodded. He turned around and walked off the field. Ginny wanted to go after him: even though she knew that Harry had been right in not selecting Dean, she felt bad for him. However, Katie grabbed her wrist before she could do so.

"Wait, Ginny! We have to help with Keeper tryouts in a few minutes."

"When are they? After the Beaters?" Demelza asked. Katie nodded. Ginny was suddenly distracted by some yelling. Mark was apparently having a far harder time accepting that he hadn't been chosen than Dean had.

"I scored at least two times more then Demelza!" he said. His foot was stamping on the floor.

"Yes, but you were knocked off your broom by one of the Bludgers and you're not aiming that well. I'm sorry, but if there had been a real Keeper at the goals, you wouldn't have stood a chance," Harry replied calmly, turning around.

Mark stomped off the field, soaring his Comet Two Sixty at one of the goalposts, where it connected with a loud bang, and fell to the ground.

"Sore loser," Katie commented. "I don't think Harry will use him as a reserve anymore. That should give Dean a better chance, Ginny."

"Yeah, I suppose so," she said, still staring at the broom.

"I think he broke some of the spells on that broom. That's going to cost him," Demelza said from over her shoulder.

"Hmm… so no self control and no broom either. That really does give Dean some chance of being the only reserve," Ginny said to Demelza. The other girl smiled.

The tryouts for Beating were much more intense then the Chasers' selection had been. Harry had offered himself as bait: the eighteen of them had to hit the Bludgers in his direction. Eight of them were dismissed after that round. There appeared to be some sore losers in this group too, but since Harry remained in the air, talking to the ten that made it through, he didn't have to deal with them.

He then flew down, took some golf balls out of his bag, and threw them at the remaining Beaters, who had to hit them back with their clubs. Since the balls were so small, this trial was much more difficult, and Harry couldn't avoid that two of the Beaters flew into each other and that another Beater got his teeth broken because his partner wasn't looking where he swung his bat.

Watching them, Ginny found a new respect for Fred and George. She had always thought that hitting Bludgers was easy, since they were attracted to the players anyway. Now that it was done by people other than the twins, it seemed to be more difficult then she had assumed. None of the applicants seemed as good as her twin brothers were last year, but Jimmy Peakes and Richie Coote were pretty decent and were selected.

Carl Hankings, a boy from Ginny's year to whom she barely spoke, didn't agree with Harry's decision. With his wand raised, he stormed at the Captain, demanding to know why he wasn't chosen. Seeing as he had been the one who had caused the broken teeth, Ginny thought he had some nerve to ask for an explanation at all. Harry was trying to shake him off, but when that didn't help, he threatened to hex Carl and the boy retreated.

Ginny glanced at her watch: it was past noon. Knowing that she still had some homework to do, and a boyfriend to calm down, she hoped the Keeper tryouts wouldn't take that long.

She hoped Ron would make the team. During the holidays he always flew very well, and his last match had been great. She knew she wasn't the only one hoping he would make it; Harry suddenly looked very tense. But he wasn't going to make it easier for Ron. He just had to earn his place as she had.

"Okay, Ginny, Katie, Demelza, over here please," Harry called. They walked over.

"Now, I just want you to do the same as you did before, but I won't release the Bludgers this time, so don't focus on dodging anything, just on your aim. We are letting them make five penalties each, and when there's a tie after that, we keep battling between the two or three Keepers who have let nothing in. Everyone knows what they're doing?" They all nodded.

"Great! Katie, you're first. I don't care in which order you aim, Ginny, but I don't want you aiming twice on your brother. People might complain afterwards you went easy on him."

"I would never do that!" she said loudly.

"I know, but they don't," he said, and walked towards the Keepers, standing at the goalposts.

For a split second, Ginny wondered if Harry wouldn't let her go up against Ron twice because she had scored the best of them all in the Chaser selections, but immediately threw that idea away.

She mounted her broom and followed Katie into the air.


	23. About keeping and cheating

_If JK was food, I would be the taste-person for a royal meal_

**23. (about keeping and cheating)**

-Love and desire are the spirit's wings to great deeds.-

_Johann Wolfgang von Goethe _

The try-outs for Keeper had started, and Hermione suddenly couldn't help but feel nervous. Was McLaggen really that good, or was it just his oversized ego talking? Well, they were about to find out.

Ron stood by the goalposts, next to McLaggen, who looked more confident than ever. A wave of disgust flooded over her. Ron clearly wanted to be next, but for some reason, Harry called, "McLaggen, you're next!"

The seventh year mounted his broom, and Hermione saw to her annoyance that he did fly pretty well. But though he was holding his broom differently, she didn't think he looked any more balanced than Ron or Ginny.

She cursed when he saved the first attempt, thrown by Demelza.

Ginny was next, though. She mostly threw with effect. He probably couldn't save one of hers.

Except that he did.

Damn.

His annoying words were still ringing in her head: "_Oh, the Weasley girl is still in it, then? Strange…_"

For just a moment, she could see why Harry, Ron and Ginny liked the game so much and were so competitive about it. She had always liked to watch when one of her friends was playing, but only to be moral support, not because she thought that Gryffindor's honour would be harmed if they lost or something.

However, now she was quite convinced that Gryffindor's honour would be completely eliminated if Cormac McLaggen was allowed to make the team. She hoped with all her heart that Katie would score the next attempt and that the annoying grin on McLaggen's face would vanish as though charmed away.

Except that it didn't. The great windbag had now saved three goals.

"_Oh, I forgot, you're friends with him, right? Does he think he stands a chance today?"_

She looked at Ron, who seemed to deflate more and more with every goal McLaggen saved.

Demelza was up next again. Hermione almost didn't want to watch.

"_Well, you've seen him fly last year. He's really not that good, is he?" _

McLaggen saved again.

"_Anyway, he can improve his technique this year, because of all the free time he will get. No way will he beat me in keeping." _

That was it – she had to do something. For once, it didn't matter that she was cheating, or breaking a good many rules, or being completely unkind and unfair to that fathead. She just had to do _something_. She remembered how she had ridiculed Ron for worrying about making the team – there was no way he wouldn't make the team. She simply would not stand for it! She saw that Ginny was up next, and was about to take the Quaffle from Demelza.

Surreptitiously, she pointed her wand at McLaggen's head, hoping with all her being that it would work. The Confundus Charm wasn't easy and non-verbally -so people couldn't accuse her- it was even more difficult.

However, Ginny was taking her time, as if she knew she had to wait just a moment. When Harry's whistle blew out of impatience, she finally went ahead.

Hermione couldn't bear to watch and closed her eyes.

"What did he do? Is he blind all of a sudden? It was perfectly clear that Weasley was aiming left!"

"I don't know. Maybe he thought it would be a trick. I mean, she nearly got him on the last one."

Hermione grinned, but got serious again when she saw how Ron looked. He still had to save five goals, and Hermione couldn't help him with that: she wouldn't want to hex Demelza or Katie, and especially not Ginny.

Hermione opened her mouth to yell something encouraging towards the little figure at the pitch, but someone else had already done it for her.

Lavender was sitting a few rows below her, screaming "good luck!" and waving at Ron.

Hermione bit her lip in annoyance. That girl…! She could never admit to anyone that she had been the one loyal enough Ron's opponent, and yet Lavender was getting his attention by screaming good luck, and giggling and batting her eyelashes and generally being her pathetic self.

She could feel the anger welling up inside her, and turned her attention back to Ron, who was now up in the air.

He saved the one from Katie, from Demelza, from Ginny (though Hermione had been sure for one moment that he would miss it and let it go through – she was sure that if he had, there would have been a new fight between those two), from Demelza and… yes! He saved the last one coming from Katie too!

Feeling more happy than she had the entire morning, Hermione ran out of the stands onto the field. She saw that Harry had to contain his happiness too, especially since McLaggen was standing next to him and was now demanding a position on the team. He brushed him off though, turning around to congratulate his new team.

"You flew really well —"

"You did brilliantly, Ron!" Hermione interrupted Harry's speech and ran over. Ron looked extremely happy and pleased with himself; Hermione hadn't seen him so confident in ages. He grinned at her and then turned back to Harry.

"First full practise will be upcoming Thursday, on seven o'clock. Bring your brooms and the flying skills every one of you showed today, and don't be late," Harry grinned.

Hermione smiled at him. She had always known Harry would make a good leader. He had proved her right with the DA and now he was going to do it again as Quidditch Captain.

They said goodbye to the rest of the team, and walked over to Hagrid's, as Harry had promised they would do that morning. It was already half past one, and though Hermione was craving something to eat, she wanted to see her friend and talk with Ron about the try-outs on their way to the Hut.

"I thought I was going to miss that fourth penalty," Ron was babbling happily. "Tricky shot from Demelza, did you see, had a bit of spin on it —"

"Yes, yes, you were magnificent," said Hermione amusedly.

"I was better than that McLaggen anyway," said Ron in a highly satisfied voice. "Did you see him lumbering off in the wrong direction on his fifth? Looked like he'd been Confunded…"

Hermione felt her face glow warm, and it had nothing to do with the weather. Ron didn't seem to notice it, but she felt Harry's gaze trained on her. He shot her a questioning look, but before she was forced to either reply or look away guiltily, Harry had seen Buckbeak standing near Hagrid's hut, and was distracted.

"I'm starving," Harry said later that day. Hermione didn't disagree with him. Hagrid had offered them rock cakes, and rather than be impolite they had accepted. Still, they knew better than to actually eat them.

"And I've got that detention with Snape tonight, I haven't got much time for dinner."

As they came into the castle they spotted Cormac McLaggen entering the Great Hall. It took him two attempts to get through the doors; he bounced off the frame on the first attempt. If she hadn't been the one hexing him, Hermione would've laughed, but now she realised that the spell might have been a bit too strong and she actually frowned. She nervously glanced at Harry and Ron. The latter snickered, and strode off proudly of his place in the team, into the Great Hall. She wanted to follow quickly, but Harry held her back.

"What?" she said, hoping her expression was more innocent than it felt.

"If you ask me," said Harry quietly, "McLaggen looks like he _was_ Confunded this morning. And he was standing right in front of where you were sitting."

Hermione tried to stay calm, but could the blood creeping into her cheeks. Technically, Harry was wrong; she had only done it when he was already up in the air. But when Harry kept staring at her accusingly, she whispered: "Oh, all right then, I did it. But you should have heard the way he was talking about Ron and Ginny! Anyway, he's got a nasty temper, you saw how he reacted when he didn't get in - you wouldn't have wanted someone like that on the team," she added quickly. Harry looked at her with a mixture of awe and disapproval; after all, she had messed with a sport he held sacred. She suddenly understood how he and Ron must feel when she was telling them something about doing their homework or setting them schedules for revising.

"No," said Harry. "No, I suppose that's true. But wasn't that dishonest, Hermione? I mean, you're a prefect, aren't you?" But now he was grinning at her, merely teasing and likely hoping to make her feel guilty.

"Oh, be quiet," she snapped, as he smirked.

"What are you two doing?" demanded Ron, reappearing in the doorway to the Great Hall and looking at them suspiciously.

"Nothing," they said at the same time. Hermione threw a glance at Harry and knew he must be thinking the same thing she was: if they told Ron about what might have won his spot on the team, his self-esteem would reach new depths.

Harry was looking hungrily at the food on their table, but before they reached it, Professor Slughorn blocked their path. Hermione heard Harry groan.

"Harry, Harry, just the man I was hoping to see!" he boomed genially, fiddling with the ends of his walrus moustache and puffing out his enormous belly. "I was hoping to catch you before dinner! What do you say to a spot of supper tonight in my rooms instead?" He beamed around at them and continued to speak, but Hermione was much too tired to pay attention, "— and, of course, I hope very much that Miss Granger will favour me by coming too."

Slughorn made her a little bow as he finished speaking and Hermione felt her cheeks heat up again. She had clearly made an impression on her new professor, and couldn't help feeling rather interested in the prospect of a private supper. Harry, however…

"I can't come, Professor," he said at once. "I've got a detention with Professor Snape."

"Oh dear!" said Slughorn, his face falling. "Dear, dear, I was counting on you, Harry! Well, now, I'll just have to have a word with Severus and explain the situation. I'm sure I'll be able to persuade him to postpone your detention. Yes, I'll see you both later!" He bustled away out of the Hall.

"He's got no chance of persuading Snape," Harry said immediately.

"Oh, I wish you could come, I don't want to go on my own!" she said, suddenly remembering that McLaggen would likely be there too.

"I doubt you'll be alone, Ginny'll probably be invited," Ron said, annoyed. Hermione wondered… maybe she actually persuade Ginny to come with her…

--------------------------------  
_Again a day too late! Shame on me! _

_Well at least I gave you more than normal to read. This were two chapters, but I decided that there was no point in that, seeing as they already came after each other and told in both chapters the point of view from Hermione..._

_Thanks to Lisa again, and all my wonderful reviewers. Especially lovestoread, who gave a review on every single chapter, even though the next chapters were already online...If only I had more of such crazy people reviewing me (hint, hint)_

_anyway, review! I'm curious to know what you thought about this chapter and the way I handeled the whole McLaggen-cursing..._

_x-mokimik-x_


	24. About pushing and aging

_If JK was the cinema, I would get a bonus-cart so I could go every day._

**24****. (about pushing and aging)**

-Kindness in giving creates love.-

_Lao Tzu quotes_

Looking back, Hermione had to admit that the Slughorn-dinner was interesting. Of course she had trouble convincing Ginny to go, and at the same time she had left Ron in a terrible mood, but nonetheless, Hermione was sure she wouldn't have liked to miss it.

Ron had been right in assuming that Ginny was invited too, and though the people (mostly Slytherins or big-headed fools) hadn't been very entertaining, the food was good, and she had enjoyed talking with Slughorn and Melinda Bobbin, a fourth-year Ravenclaw: she had seemed rather shy at first, but had been a laugh when she actually got to know Ginny and Hermione.

McLaggen had still seemed rather confused, and when he wasn't looking, she had muttered the counter curse. Ginny had seen it and had been rather shocked upon hearing the whole story.

"Really Hermione, and you're telling me off for attempting to copy Dean's old homework?"

Hermione had blushed. When put that way, it did seem rather hypocritical that she had told Ginny off for that…

"He said some nasty things about you and Ron. Really, I'm sure you would've done the same if you had heard him! I probably did Harry a favour!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Ginny had replied, obviously not believing her.

"No, really, Ginny! He said you lived on a farm, and made it sound as if you were all poor…"

"We are," the girl said truthfully. "Well, not very poor, and since Dad's promotion we're doing much better, but I've never had much allowance, or new things," she explained. Hermione had stared at her for a while, not sure how to react. She knew that when it came to money, Ron had always been rather touchy. She hadn't expected Ginny to be so… blunt about it.

"Well, anyway, he was still rather rude. He said that you both flew awfully, and had the wrong technique and that you didn't deserve to be on the team."

That finally got the reaction she had aimed for. Ginny turned to glare at McLaggen, who was at that point talking again about the time he and the minister hunted Nogtails and how he shot 32 of them.

After a short silence between them which was filled by one of Slughorns entertaining stories, Ginny whispered back;

"You like him that much, don't you?"

She obviously wasn't talking about McLaggen. Hermione felt her face grow red under the look Ginny was now giving her and it seemed that the temperature in the room had suddenly increased several degrees. How could one simple question made her feel so flustered? If it had been anyone else asking it, she was sure she could have brushed it off. Ginny was taking her blush as a 'yes', and said softly, in that straight forward-tone Hermione was used to from her:

"Look, what you see in him, I obviously don't, since he's one of my brothers, and the most prattish of them, but let me tell you this. If you hadn't picked it up in all those years, Ron's a bit slow in noticing these things. Make it clear that you like him, because I heard Lavender speaking to Parvati in the girl's bathroom, and you aren't the only one anymore." Looking like she would gag if subjected to any further discussion of her brother's love life, Ginny pretended to be interested in Slughorns story about his friendship with Celestina Warbeck.

The following Tuesday, it was Hermione's birthday. She had never really looked forward to it since she had arrived at Hogwarts; without her parents, it didn't feel as special to her as it had felt before she had turned twelve. Walking down to the common room that morning, she saw that Ron and Harry were both standing at the stairs, each with a package in their hands.

"Happy Birthday!"

She looked at their faces and smiled; it was really nice to have them both as her friends. They could be dim-witted, rude, or stupid, but these little things made her always remember why she had stuck with them after they had saved her from the mountain troll.

"Thanks Harry! I've wanted that quill-set for ages!" she said, when she saw that Harry had bought the three blue quills she had stared at in Diagon Alley over the summer. He grinned sheepishly.

"You're welcome. I hope you have a nice birthday. I'll be right back; I have to post this reminder on the note board," he said, waving a sheet of parchment in his hand, which held the dates for the upcoming Quidditch-training sessions.

"Happy birthday, Hermione," Ron now said. She focused back on the tall guy in front of her, and saw a telltale blush start to creep up his ears.

"Thanks Ron," she said, taking his gift and carefully tearing the paper away. Ron seemed to get more and more uncomfortable.

"It was hard to find something suitable for you. I suppose this isn't suitable either, and it's probably lame and stupid, but I thought that, since now you're of age, you still should try and have fun once in a while, and be a bit childish," he rambled, now completely red. Hermione looked up, not sure how to take those words.

"And I know you probably wouldn't use one, or need one anymore – well… and I thought about giving you a book, but I didn't know which one you hadn't read, or could always find in the library—"

But Hermione had stopped listening. She had opened up the lid of the box that contained her present, and was for a moment quite speechless.

Inside the box was a stuffed animal, a bear. It looked like one of those teddy bears that were too pretty and cute to give to a child, who would only throw it in a corner. Suddenly understanding what he'd said about "having fun and being childish," she looked up, only to see that Ron was looking uncomfortably at the bear.

"I have the receipt upstairs if you don't like it," he said in a small voice, while Hermione was trying to form some sort of thanks in her head.

"Why wouldn't I want it? I love it! It's so…" she tried to say "sweet," but somehow, she ended with "original".

"You like it?"

"Of course I do!"

"It's pretty useless though. I mean, at least Harry's gift really comes in handy—"

_Yeah, but it isn't as personal as yours_, she wanted to reply, but again, the words wouldn't come out of her mouth and she stayed quiet. Ron still looked uncomfortable. Then, without giving it a second thought, without actually giving it any thought at all, as she usually did with her words, Hermione stood on her tip-toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

She was pretty sure that by the time she stood on steady feet again, (but with wobbling knees) she was as red at Ron. In the corner of her eye-sight, she saw Lavender coming downstairs and would have scowled at her, but in her dizzy state didn't think of it. Instead, she tried not to look at anything – especially Ron – and stammered:

"I – um… I'll put these upstairs. Thanks again for the gift. You go ahead to have breakfast – I'll see you in a bit." Ron seemed to have heard her, and scurried off to Harry.

For a moment, Hermione stood still as a stone.

When she had been in her fourth year, Ginny had started to claim that Ron liked her back. Only now was she really hoping and believing it was true.

This was already the best birthday she'd ever had at Hogwarts.

---------------------------------------------

_Just some radom Ron-Hermione fluff. Hope you guys liked it. _

_I'm sorry to say that I kind of stole the whole giving-a-teddy-bear-idea. Though I did write it in my own way, I got the idea while reading another story here on And this is the place where I should give it proper credit, but after reading so much fanfictions here, I just can't find the story anymore... Anyone who knows the story I'm talking about, (or who is the author of said story) please let me know! _

_Thanks for all the reviews, as usual, and all the beta-ing that's being done by Lisa. _

_I'm also very proud to say that last Friday, I finally finished writing this story! It needs a lot of editing, and probably some minor changes, but the end is near! It has officially 100 chapters, so I hope you guys are up for such a big story:-)_

_Next up: A chapter filled with Quidditch-practise, a boyfriend, and quite a cliff-hanger produced by Hermione... all from Ginny's POV... let me know what your expectations are.._

_x-mokimk-x_


	25. About practising and shocking

_If JK was Ben and Jerry's ice-cream I would never have tidea that I could make such great ice-cream myself...I'm just eating it..._

**25. (about practising and shocking)**

-"You cannot fly like an eagle with wings of a wren."-

_William James_

"No, Hermione, I really won't come with you again!" Ginny said during breakfast on a rainy Thursday morning. She shook her head fervently.

"But we can't disappoint Professor Slughorn!"

"Of course we can! He'll live," she said, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. Hermione started to frown at her. "Listen," Ginny said, "I know you like the gatherings a little bit more than I do, and I won't say that I won't go to future suppers at all. It's just that after last Saturday evening, I've had quite enough questions about my heritage and enough tales about famous wizard contacts to be satisfied for at least a month. I don't care that he's planning another one upcoming Saturday; I won't go with you."

Hermione sighed and nodded. Satisfied that she had won their discussion, Ginny offered the other girl a seat next to her, but she shook her head.

"I'm going to sit with Ron and Harry over there," she said, nodding towards the two boys sitting a bit further.

"Have fun," Ginny replied, not sure if she had meant it teasingly or sarcastically. Hermione didn't leave immediately, though.

"Ginny," she started, leaning over and speaking very quietly, "Have you had any nightmares since we talked about them?"

Surprised that after almost two weeks Hermione started about something like this, she stared at her friend for a moment before answering. Hermione seemed truly worried, though.

"Um… I think I had one, when I couldn't finish my homework for the next day. Last Sunday, I think it was," she tried to say nonchalantly. "Why?"

"I've been thinking…." Hermione looked around anxiously, and when she saw that Dean was coming over, she said hastily, "You know what? Now's really not a good time for it. I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Hermione—" Ginny said, but before she could finish her sentence, the girl had scurried off and was replaced by Dean.

"Blimey, why's she in such a rush?" Dean asked curiously, before sitting next to Ginny in the still empty seat and kissing her.

"No idea," Ginny replied, and tried to shake the weird feeling Hermione had given her.

"Okay team! Gather around!" Harry yelled at them that evening, after they had flown for two hours. It was raining, but Ginny couldn't remember ever enjoying practice so much. She landed, and though they easily could have gathered inside, none of her other team-mates seemed to be bothered by the rain either and they kept standing on the pitch.

"Listen, you're all flying really well," Harry started. Ginny had liked his practise: he had told them he would just watch them fly for one entire night, and later tell them what could be improved.

"However, we have to work on some things before we're ready for Slytherin: Demelza, you focus too much on avoiding Bludgers; that's good, but we also have two excellent Beaters, so don't worry about those balls, just focus on the Quaffle."

"Jimmy, Ritchie, try to avoid being on the same half of the pitch. You're sticking together more than you should. Remember that there are two Bludgers to look out for, not just one. Next practise I'll give you some more exercises for that. Also, you need to watch your aim: you want to keep the Bludgers away, but at the same time, you can't slam them in the direction of other team-mates." Both of the boys nodded, listening intently.

"Ron, you need to watch out for that left hoop. You keep wandering to the right. Also – look at the Chasers, not at the Beaters or the Seeker. It's them you have to worry about." Ron nodded too, and didn't actually look too hopeless about it.

"And as for the Chasers in general: work on your teamwork. Ginny—" she looked up when he mentioned her name, "that means especially you. I've already seen you score seventeen goals at the try-outs. When you are playing against three other chasers, it won't be so easy – teamwork is the key for scoring then." She nodded. Harry was right, and she knew it.

"Katie, Demelza – make sure you are both in the right place at the right time. If one of the Chasers has the Quaffle, she must be able to pass it. Make sure you are flying in the right position, so you guys can pass more to each other."

"Well, that's it for tonight, I guess. Anyone have a problem with Saturday evening as our next practise?" He looked around, but no one complained. Ginny was relieved; now she had an actual reason for not coming to Slughorn's supper on the upcoming Saturday, in case Hermione asked about it again.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you then." With that, the team was dismissed. Ginny decided that she would take a shower in the castle (it was no use to shower in the changing rooms and then get dirty and wet from the rain again) and watched Ron and Harry split up – apparently, Ron had to fetch something from the changing rooms, while Harry walked over to the crate with the Quidditch balls in it and started to tilt it up.

"Need a hand with that?" she offered, and without waiting for his answer took one of the handles.

"I see I have no choice," Harry grinned.

"So… was your choice of Saturday evening intentional?"

"What do you mean?"

"You won't have to go to Slughorn's supper this way! I'm sure Hermione has already tried to drag you with her after I said 'no' to her this morning." To her satisfaction, Harry grinned mischievously.

"Okay, you got me. But I don't think I'd have fun there. And besides, this way Ron doesn't feel left out." They put the crate on one of the shelves in Madame Hooch's office.

"And now I have a great excuse too! Thanks!"

"So I'm not missing anything?"

"Let's say it's about as interesting as the supper in the train."

"Hm… I think I can live with missing those. Let me know if you hear about any more – I can schedule all our practices on those dates…."

She laughed. "Deal. See you around, Harry."

"Bye," he said, and Harry walked back to the dressing rooms for Ron.

When Ginny sat in the common room not too long after that (okay, it might have been a while, since she'd taken a shower,) Hermione came over immediately and sat next to her.

"There you are! How was practise?"

"Great! Harry's a very good captain." Hermione beamed at hearing that.

"I wouldn't have expected anything else."

"Never mind that now," Ginny said, suddenly remembering what had happened this morning. "What's up? Why did you leave in such a rush during breakfast?"

Hermione started to fidget uncomfortable. Ginny had never seen Hermione fidget when a question was shot at her.

"Remember when Harry had those dreams last year?" She started in that same hushed tone as this morning.

Ginny nodded. How could she forget? One of those had saved her father! She had heard from Hermione that it had had something to do with Voldemort being in Harry's mind. That's why Snape had tried to teach him to close his mind.

"I'm worried you have the same problem."

For a moment, Ginny stared at her, not sure what she meant.

"What? That Voldemort can enter my thoughts too?"

Hermione cringed, but it wasn't because of the name. Ginny saw immediately that she had cringed because she herself had asked exactly the right question.

"Yes."

--------------------------

_I know this is about the most stupid ending I can come up with for you readers... I guess yu can call it a cliff-hanger, as I told you last week, but it's more a state of total bewilderness and probably not liking where this story is heading to. Well, for the bewilderness: that was intentional, since you now wll feel exactly as how Ginny feels right now (though she's a character and doesn't excist). _

_As for the not-liking-where-this-story-is-heading-to: don't worry. I won't try to write occlumency-lessons with Snape or anything. Ginny will come with her own solution... The idea Hermione's having, is just to make the connection between Harry and Ginny more stronger: They both understand each other better because of their own experiences... for example, Ginny was the only one who knew how to calm Harry down in book 5..._

_Anyway, I'm rambling, and giving a bit too much away..._

_Thanks as always to Lisa and the wonderful people who left me reviews! If you sign in and review to me, I promise you'll always get a reply!_

_Next chapter will also be about Ginny... with, of course, her reaction..._

_x-mokimik-x_


	26. About suggesting and confronting

_Last time I checked, my imaginative lawyers were still busy to try and talk JK and WB into selling Harry Potter to me- in normal English that means I still disclaim every right._

**26. (About suggesting and confronting)**

-Those with the greatest awareness have the greatest nightmares.-

_Mahatma Gandhi _

"Wait – what? How?" Ginny spluttered. She didn't know if she should laugh in Hermione's face, or whether to just be flabbergasted. Apparently, her mind had chosen the latter.

"Listen, I just find it weird that just like Harry, you've had close contact with V-V-Voldemort. Just like Harry, you have these weird dreams and nightmares. And just like Harry, you're told that you should empty your mind and try to close it before you go to bed. I mean, wasn't that what Lupin told you?"

Ginny kept staring at her. It was pretty weird, but when laid out this way, it did sound rather logical. When she didn't answer, Hermione continued.

"I'm sorry, Ginny, but it sounded to me like Lupin was teaching you Occlumency in your second year. It would make perfect sense if that little bit of Occlumency didn't work anymore: Voldemort is getting stronger."

"But…" Ginny swallowed, finding it hard to formulate sentences, "but Voldemort's been back since the Tournament. Why didn't I feel him then?" For a moment, she thought she had come up with a possibility Hermione hadn't thought about, but that hope was crushed immediately.

"Well, last year, Voldemort was focusing on Harry, since he knows there's some sort of connection between them. However, Dumbledore told Harry…" Hermione paused suddenly, looking hesitant to go on.

"Dumbledore told Harry what?"

"I can't say much about it, I've promised not to say anything, but let's just say that Harry hasn't felt anything since that day at the Ministry. Voldemort isn't focused on his mind anymore. That would explain—"

But Ginny interrupted.

"Why is Voldemort closing his mind towards Harry? Couldn't he use him as a spy?"

"Ginny, please don't ask me to explain all of that! It's a rather long story and Harry and Ron will kill me if they knew I told you! Besides, it's quite dangerous to know all those things and I really don't want to give you that responsibility," the older girl begged.

Ginny nodded, slightly disgruntled. "Okay, okay, you can't tell. But why would that explain why I didn't feel anything last year?"

"Well, since Voldemort was focused on Harry, his subconscious wouldn't have made a connection with you. However, now that he's closing his mind off to Harry…"

A nauseating feeling rose in her stomach. She didn't like what Hermione was saying. At all. Why did it have to sound so logical? She suddenly felt very dirty. As if she hadn't washed herself in several weeks.

"Ginny…. I think you should go to the headmaster. Explain to him what's been happening lately, and ask if it has anything to do with what was happening to Harry last year," Hermione said softly. Ginny knew the girl sitting in front of her would push her to do it until she gave in. Not that she minded much; at this point, she was startled by what Hermione had just suggested and wanted nothing more than to hear from her headmaster that Voldemort had truly left her mind.

"McGonagall said Dumbledore would pay a quick visit to the castle on Friday morning. Go during lunch."

"And I can just storm in, claiming that I have weird visions and demanding to know what they mean?" Her sarcasm took over. "Just because Harry does that every once in a while doesn't mean every student knows the password of the headmaster's office and can stumble in!"

"No, but the best friend of Dumbledore's favourite troubled child might know," Hermione said, just as sarcastically. "Try 'Acid Pops'. I'm sure that the gargoyles will take that."

Ginny stared at her, a little uncomfortable. Hermione had thought of everything.

And that was why, haunted by visions of her turning into Voldemort and vice versa, Ginny stood in front of the gargoyle the following Friday. Students were filling up the corridor, since the last lesson before lunch had just let out, but the corridors emptied out soon. Still she stood in front of the gargoyles, hesitating to use the password.

She had only been in the Headmaster's office two times; neither occasion had been any fun at all.

Last time, she had been woken in the middle of the night by McGonagall, who said she should come down to the common room immediately and wait for her, while she would wake her other brothers. Harry had somehow seen an attack on their father and they had to follow her to the headmaster's office at once. There, Fred, George and herself had found Ron and a very angry and disturbed Harry, while Dumbledore explained the matter and conveyed them by portkey to Grimmauld Place. Ginny remembered how frightened she had been that night, constantly thinking about how her dad would look dead and lying in a coffin and how the hell Harry had been able to "see" the attack happening. He had told them, but still… there were a lot of things Harry hadn't answered… as how much blood was already oozing on the ground for instance…However, by the look on his face she hadn't dared to ask, rather letting the fear running through her mind than asking him something like that when he had already looked so occupied and guilty…

The time before that had been more painful for herself. Though it technically had been McGonagall's office she had stood in, it was still a visit to the Headmistress, since Dumbledore had been sacked. The diary had been destroyed and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. But she still had to confess everything to her parents. Come to think of it, she had done a pretty poor job; Harry had told the main story, and only when he was done did the grown-ups question her.

And now she stood here again. Not woken up in the middle of the night, not softly guided by her brother and Harry, not with Harry telling a story about her or her relatives but by her own free will (though a bit bossed around by Hermione).

She wished that somebody would force her trough that door: force her to spill out the password: she wasn't sure if she could do this on her own.

But the choice was taken away from her; without her saying the password, the gargoyles had suddenly slipped open and Dumbledore came walking out of his office, almost falling over Ginny.

"Miss Weasley!"

"Hello sir. Um…" she swallowed and then looked bravely at the blue twinkling eyes. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but could I talk to you for a moment?"

The headmaster eyed her curiously over his half-moon glasses, and then said: "Certainly. Would you care to join me for lunch upstairs?"

Sighing deeply and throwing all the angst and fear aboard, she climbed on the moving stairs behind Dumbledore.

_------------------------------------_

_hmm... apart from Ginny's reaction, contemplating some old memories and spreading some fear in Ginny's heart, nothing is happening in this chapter: sorry! The next chapter will be about Ginny too... for those who get sick of waiting every week and then get such crappy short filling-chapters: just leave the story for a couple of weeks alone and then read a few new chapters at once... it's better than sending me nagging reviews. Though I love those too! however, don't forget to come back!_

_thanks to LEAD, who is now updating one of her own stories... go check it out! It's called "the project" and the first 2 chapters are online! _

_keep reading! and a review once in a while wouldn't hurt ;-)_

_x-mokimik-x_


	27. About lunching and crying

_Do you really thinkI wouldhave a genius mind, just as JK? I'm flattered, but I don't have it. So in other words, it's not my genius idea_

**27. (About lunching and crying)**

-There is no great genius without some touch of madness.- 

_Seneca_

"I must say, I'm quite surprised by your urge to see me," Dumbledore said, while he sat down and motioned her to one of the seats in front of his desk. "Surely it isn't because I didn't make you a prefect?" 

"No, sir. I'm not sure I'd be such a good one," she replied truthfully. 

Dumbledore summoned up some food on a golden plate like the ones that were always used for feasts. "I wouldn't say that. What I do know is that you like your freedom too much to be constricted by such obligations. Something, I believe, you have in common with Fred and George Weasley." 

Ginny couldn't help but smile. 

"But then what was the occasion to come and see me?" 

"I… well… you see—" She started to stutter and closed her mouth. Dumbledore waited patiently for her to begin, in the meantime taking a scone and inviting her to eat something too, but she wasn't hungry.

Where to start? Then she knew: Hermione had planted the whole idea, so she would start with Hermione. 

"A while ago, I told Hermione Granger that I've been having nightmares. The same nightmares I had after… after what had happened in my first year. I also told her that Professor Lupin helped me get rid of those nightmares by telling me to clear my head before I went to bed." 

She suddenly felt very foolish. Had she really gone to the Headmaster because she had some trouble with nightmares? And why wasn't Dumbledore telling her that she was wasting his time, and instead having a lunch with her? Clearly he had more important things to do than listen to her ramble. 

"A wise advice," he nodded. He conjured up a glass of pumpkin juice and took a sip while Ginny went on. 

"But the dreams have come back. And – well, Hermione had this idea that it's similar to what happened with Harry last year and Voldemort is in my mind too. But that's not true, is it?" she quickly asked.

Dumbledore remained silent for a moment, deep in thought. Ginny hadn't realised how scared she was until she actually saw Dumbledore consider the option. 

"I think you can count yourself lucky for not being entirely similar to Harry," her headmaster finally said in a sad, soft tone. "These dreams…. What are they about?" 

Ginny shrugged. "Usually Tom coming out of the diary, or flashbacks of what I did in my first year, sir." She tried to say it matter-of-factly, but Dumbledore looked at her and Ginny felt as if those eyes were piercing through her. They both knew it wasn't that matter-of-factly.

"Then I can say with certainty that you aren't a similar case. It's odd that the dreams have come back after so many years, but then again, our lives are slowly experiencing more and more the terror that is Voldemort. You have had a more painful experience with Lord Voldemort than most of us in this castle and I think your dreams are simply just a reflection of your subconscious, as they are with most people." 

The tone in which he spoke made it clear to Ginny that Harry was an exception. "But they aren't with Harry, sir?" she asked, biting on the inside of her cheek. She knew that she was being really nosy, but hoped Dumbledore would answer her anyway.

"Oh, I'm sure Harry has dreams just like anyone else. He is, after all, a normal boy. The connection with Voldemort means that he has also had some visions in the past." He emptied his glass of pumpkin juice and vanished it along with the plate. He then looked at Ginny again. 

"I wouldn't worry so much, Miss Weasley, and I would advise you to say the same to Miss Granger. Harry's connection with Voldemort is truly unique and I think we have to be glad for that. We wouldn't want other people living with such a burden as Harry has." 

With that, Ginny knew the conversation was over. She nodded and said her goodbyes, walking out of the room. Dumbledore merely nodded and stared after her as she walked over to the door. 

She walked to the Great Hall, where Dean was sitting in their usual spot. 

"There you are! What took you so long?" 

"I met Luna and we started talking," Ginny lied quickly, when she saw that the other girl was indeed also walking over to the Ravenclaw table and waving at her. She didn't know why, but now she knew that the dreams and the talk with Dumbledore wouldn't have consequences, it didn't feel worth mentioning to Dean. 

"It's too bad you aren't in our year, Ginny," Seamus said, changing the subject. "Neville almost farted during Transfiguration. He had to do something non-verbal, his face nearly turned purple. Really, it was a blast to see it, you'd just had to be there!"

Ginny barely listened. She was thinking about her conversation with Dumbledore. He had seemed so sad when talking about Harry, as if he wished he could make it easier for him. Ginny looked over to the boy in question, and saw that her brother, Hermione and Harry were in deep conversation. 

She'd never had any doubt that the Prophet had been completely wrong in assuming what had happened in the Ministry. After all, she had been there and had seen the whole thing, exactly as the Prophet had printed a few weeks later, although that seemed to be the only thing the newspaper had right. The whole thing about Harry being the "Chosen One" she had received somewhat sceptically: even if Harry was the one to defeat Voldemort, according to a prophecy, all the prophecies had been smashed, and they never would know for sure. 

But after seeing so much sadness in Dumbledore's eyes just now, and remembering how uncomfortable Harry had looked on the train when Slughorn had started talking about it, she was suddenly very sure that at least two people did know that there was more to this rubbish than she thought.

The idea of Harry being the Chosen One scared her for a moment, but then she And now she thought about it, she couldn't think of anyone better suited to defeating Voldemort than Harry.

The lesson after lunch was cancelled due to a cannibalistic plant eating the one the fifth years were supposed to be studying for that lesson. Glad that there was a free period, Ginny walked up to her dormitory, only to find that Evelyn was already there. Though not in a mood Ginny had hoped for. 

Tears streamed down her face and she clutched a piece of paper in her hand. _Probably_, Ginny immediately thought as she climbed on the same bed as her friend and tried to comfort her, _the first letter from home_. 

------------------------------------------

_Say with me: aaaaaaahw..._

_the Evelyn part was nessicary for a: maing this chapter longer and b.): to let you all know that I hadn't forgotten about my other character, as so many other ff-writers do (thoughI totally get it:it's hard to stuff a new personin analready created world!)_

_I hoped you liked this chapter... next week, You'll get to read something about Hermione for a change again and though it's kind of a filler chapter, it's a start of a huge problem for Hermione..._

_Leave a review if you like!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	28. About passing and reflecting

_If JK would be the Piramid of Giza, I would be a sandcastle. (thanks to Professor Snaglefoompus for that one ;))_

**28. (About passing and reflecting)**

-Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.-

_Albert Einstein_

Slowly, the weeks were knitting into each other. The September sun traded places with the October wind and autumn had officially begun.

Nothing big had happened on her birthday besides the gift from Ron (although she might be the only one who thought it a big thing). Ginny had given her a new basket for Crookshanks, and some stuff from Fred and George's shop for fun, because she knew Hermione wouldn't approve of them. Other then a letter from her parents (who had already given her a necklace over the summer), there had been nothing different about the nineteenth of September.

What _was_ different was that when September turned into October, Hermione was still feeling guilty about the letter she had written back to her parents. She had pretended that everything was fine in the Wizarding World and that her life couldn't be much better.

Just the same content as her letter before. And the one before that….

She had never purposely tried to keep her parents out of her life and out of the war. It had just seemed far more logical when Cedric died that she wouldn't tell them, since it would only shock them. And it had seemed logical enough not to tell them about the Order: no one was supposed to know about that, and a lot of things she had promised to keep a secret anyway. It would have been ridiculous to tell them that Harry's godfather had died during a battle (in which she had fought) by stepping through a curtain. Especially since she hadn't told them anything about Sirius's escape from Azkaban and how he had been on the run. And Harry had only told her and Ron about the prophecy once she'd already gone to the Burrow for the summer, and telling what she _might_ thought the prophesy would mean, would only be speculation.

She had felt that guilty feeling before, when she had sent her letters and pretended to be fine, but now it had increased. Every time she so much as thought about her parents, her insides would wriggle and squirm. So she decided that she was going to tell them.

Soon.

Probably in the Christmas holidays.

But after Christmas itself, as nothing would ruin their Christmas cheer like hearing their daughter was right in the middle of a war.

What was ruining her spirit at the moment was the fact that Harry was still using the potions book from the Half-Blood Prince, and taking all the credit for the potions he had made with the book's help. Hermione was truly annoyed by it. She felt that Harry was cheating, but knew that no matter what she would say, he wouldn't change his mind about the book. And since Ron wasn't on her side either, she knew she was fighting a losing battle for Harry to get rid of the book. However, once she realised that there were also spells written in the book (_unknown_ spells that she'd never heard of), she redoubled her efforts to make Harry see that the Prince could be dangerous. Maybe he'd get rid of the darn thing if she stayed angry long enough.

Harry seemed to have been accumulating a steady fan-base since the try-outs. Every once in a while, he was the topic within several bathrooms and in the corridors. The staring and whispering that people usually did when they saw Harry was now accompanied by giggles and fluttering of eyelashes. Harry, however, didn't seem to notice. Hermione wondered whom he actually fancied at the moment, but up to now, she hadn't seen him turn red or look uncomfortable at any conversation.

However, Lavender clearly couldn't be counted as one of Harry's fans. She still seemed to fancy Ron (Hermione was after what Ginny had said on Slughorns party sure of it,) and was waving and fluttering her eyelashes and smiling and giggling and being her pathetic self every time she saw the redhead (whether he was walking with Hermione or not.) Hermione hadn't spoken a word to the tart since she had realised it, except for the obvious things that had to be said ("has anyone seen my quills? I thought I had put them in my trunk," and "No, Lavender, the kitchens aren't on the fourth floor, they're in the basement,") but those were also spoken quite coolly.

In the meantime, the stuffed bear had found its way up to her nightstand and was reminding her every time that the boy they both seemed to like had given it to _her_. Or at least, that was what Hermione was reminded of. Harry had told her that Ron thought it had been a stupid gift to give, no matter what Hermione had said. She didn't feel like correcting him, though; it would be a bit awkward to bring it all up, and she didn't know if it meant as much to Ron as it meant to her.

She had an advantage in the situation: Ron had been her close friend for more than five years, and two times a week she was guaranteed some alone-time, since they had to patrol the corridors. She liked that time. They had remained the same since the birthday incident and yet they seemed to act more… nicely with each other. It seemed the ideal time to be away from Harry for a while and talk about their best friend and how much they both worried about him.

She found it strange that Dumbledore was at school so irregularly, and that he hadn't taught Harry anything about Voldemort's past for several weeks. On the other hand, she had been rather glad that the Headmaster had had the time to listen to Ginny's story. She had accepted that she was wrong when Ginny told her. The girl seemed irritated at her for scaring her like that, but if Sirius's death had proven anything to Hermione, it had been that it was always better to be sure. She had told neither Ron nor Harry about her idea now that she knew it was wrong; knowing that they wouldn't take the news very well, and that an endless debate would follow over something that in her eyes now had been solved, it seemed better to keep it between her and Ginny. She was almost sure that the girl hadn't told anyone too.

Besides, she and Ron already had their hands full in getting the ridiculous idea out of Harry's head that Malfoy was a Death Eater. It was almost an obsession, the way Harry told them he was sure, and she had spoken with Ron about it during patrolling last night.

He had told her not to worry, though. "Harry's still upset about what happened on the train," he said wisely. Hermione remained sceptical. Hadn't Harry also been rather sure about Malfoy being a Death Eater before that? However, since it was Ron, and he was one of the few people that could actually make her feel comfortable and less stubborn, she had just nodded, changing the subject.

As Hagrid had said a few years ago; what would come, would come... and they would have to meet it when it did.

_I can already picture everyone's angry face. I made you wait a day longer, only to give you this... If this would be a movie instead of a fic, this chapter would either be an overview with a lot of non-spoken-scenes, where some cool music is playing while you notice how the season is changing, or just a few very very short scenes, with Hermione being the subject in all of them off course...What can I say? Sometimes those scenes are nessicary..._

_Oh, and as for the late-ness: my editor says I have to blame her, for sending it too late. Though I doubt I would have posted it yesterday if she had given me the piece on time. We both have a life, you see..._

_Next week (hopefully on time): A Ginny-chapter, with a bit of Ron-teasing..._

_Leave a review if you do have some time!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	29. About buying and teasing

_If JK was the ocean, I would be a glass of water. So again, not mine._

**29. (about thinking and teasing)**

-Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don't quite know how to put our love into words-

_Harlan Miller _

Ginny had hoped that her worries would go away once a few weeks had passed, but it seemed that every time she solved one, another one would pop up in its place.

Her homework and dreams were now completely under control, but Evelyn seemed to get more depressed by the day. Two weeks had passed since her first letter from home, but Ginny knew that her friend still felt sick when she thought about it. She tried to remain positive when talking to Evelyn about it; her mum probably hadn't meant to sound so harsh, and she was sure that there wouldn't be any more catastrophes after the Dementor attack in the southwest. However, it was hard to lie to her friend, for Ginny was actually quite sure there would be far more disasters to come.

Dean had also been a little problem: between her homework, Evelyn, practise and her lessons, it had been rather hard to make time for him, and he seemed to be annoyed by that. He was still sweet and helpful, but every time Ginny declined his offer to do something fun, or simply be together, he became more and more sulky and silent. For now, Ginny really couldn't help it; Dean would have to accept that fifth year was hard. And being the great boyfriend that he was, he seemed to really try.

Practises, on the other hand, were going very well; after the feedback Harry had given them at the first practise, they were now all focusing on their weakest points for the upcoming match against Slytherin on the third Saturday of October. It seemed that Harry had taken winning against Slytherin as a given these past few years, and he wasn't about to let that change, especially now that he had been appointed captain.

She had wondered a lot during practises since when Harry had become such a good leader; he obviously had those qualities during the DA, but as Captain of the Quidditch team, he seemed to be more relaxed then last year. They trained hard and well, but unlike Oliver and Angelina, as Katie told her, Harry was also able to laugh from time to time, and have fun with them.

On a Friday morning, she was having breakfast with Ron and Harry. Hermione had rushed of to the library ("You never know how much that little detail is going to affect my marks, Ron!") and Ginny hadn't seen Dean or Evelyn. The former was always a little late for breakfast; the latter had received another letter yesterday and had probably fallen asleep around dawn.

The post arrived, and, to her surprise, she and Ron both got a package. Hers was delivered by Errol, who unceremoniously crashed into Harry's plate while landing, and Ron's came by an owl Ginny recognized as a typical post-order-one.

She opened her package and saw that it was from her mum, sending her the extra Quidditch gloves she had requested. After training with her old ones last week, they were now completely torn and ready for the waste bin.

"Mum says hi," she told Ron, who was unpacking his parcel. She threw some of the chocolate frogs her mum had sent towards her brother, who caught them out of mid-air with his Keeper skills. Keeping her own eyes on the letter that had been attached to the gloves, she continued:

"She wants to know if you need anything, and why you haven't written her yet. Oh, she says hi to you too, Harry," she said, and threw him a chocolate frog as well. Harry grinned at her, still picking the feathers out of his pumpkin juice. "Apparently, she thinks you guys are up to something, since Ron hasn't written anything and you are always in trouble." Harry snickered. She scanned the rest of the letter.

"Blah, blah, a lot about Dad's work… blah… congratulations on our spots on the Quidditch team and greetings from Fred and George, who want to know who the new Beaters are," she said, rolling up the parchment. "Nothing shocking," she concluded, when she saw that they were both looking at her.

In glancing at them, she saw that Ron now held a small black box in his hands, but hadn't opened it.

"What's that?" she asked curiously. Her eyes fell on the wrapping paper stamped _"Diagon Boutique."_

"Oh, nothing," her brother replied, but his ears said otherwise, and before Ron knew it, Ginny had snatched the box out of his hands, and was taking off the lid.

"Hey! Give it back, you! That's personal! You can't just open other people's mail!"

"Umbridge did," Harry replied matter-of-factly, as if that would give Ginny permission.

"Umbridge was a—" but before Ron could finish that sentence, he was interrupted by Ginny's shriek.

"Ron, please tell me these aren't for you!"

In the box lay a pair of small blue earrings. A little silver star dangled from each of them, and they looked very pretty. Very girly, too. "Or did you have a sudden urge to become a woman?"

"No, of course not!" her brother hissed, now clearly annoyed. Ginny's shriek had made people stare at their conversation and he got more flustered. Ron snatched the box out of her hands, and threw it in his bag under the table.

"Then who are they for?" Ginny pressed. She had an idea, but wasn't going to believe it until Ron actually said so. Harry, who didn't seem that interested, had now fished all the feathers out of his pumpkin juice, as well as some leaves, and had decided that he had better pour himself a fresh glass. He was busy reading the paper and Ginny saw by his expression he would try very hard to stay out of this.

"I…" Ron stammered, and started to turn red. "They're for a girl," he managed to get out.

"Ron, I figured that out already."

"Were you always this nosy?"

"Ron, come on! I won't tell anyone," she lied, thinking that if they were meant for anyone besides Hermione, her friend would definitely hear about it.

"They're a gift – I messed up on a birthday present, so these are for Christmas, to make up for it. I saw them in the paper, and thought I'd better order them now, so I wouldn't forget," he replied hastily, taking a sip of pumpkin juice afterwards.

Ginny wanted to ask more, but before she could, Dean walked over.

"Hi," he said happily. Ron scowled a bit at him when he placed his hands on Ginny's shoulders.

"Let's find a spot for two, shall we?" Ginny replied sharply when she saw the look on Ron's face. "See you guys around. Oh and Ron, don't forget to write mum! She's getting really annoyed, you know."

She turned around and walked away with Dean, not feeling remotely sorry about how she'd annoyed Ron. After all, someone had to do it now that Fred and George had left.

_Hope you like this chapter...It's short, I know, but I had to write it, because it ties in later in the story... waaaaay later..._

_Again thanks to Lisa, for editing and thanks to all the people who reviewed so far: You guys rock! _

_Next up: Hermione, going on a certain Hogsmeade trip..._

_Leave a review if you have some time!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	30. About rising and panicking

_If JK was my exerpt of the History I have to read this evening, I would've read trough it twice by now, instead of not even starting..._

**30. (About not having fun and panicking)**

-Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.-  
_Marie Curie_

To say that Hermione was not having fun at the moment was an understatement. The Hogsmeade trip they were having wasn't nearly as good as Hermione had hoped it would be, and had looked forward to since early September.

Ron seemed to have completely forgotten about his slip-up in the Hogwarts Express. Harry was trailing along, and Ron was acting just as he usually did, like a friend, and she hated it.

Then of course there was what had happened atbreakfast. It seemed that Harry had found another of the Prince's spells that could not only get him in trouble, but was just as dodgy as the others. She had never heard of such a spell. For all they knew, it was invented for torture and had horrible side effects. What annoyed her more was that neither Harry nor Ron seemed to think this was as serious as she did. As far as they were concerned, they were only amazed by the possibilities the spells gave them, and not of the potential dangers.

The only thing that had brought her joy had been Ginny, when she brought Harry another note from Dumbledore; apparently the lessons were important enough to be scheduled regularly. However, that happiness didn't last long, as the walk to Hogsmeade was cold and unpleasant: She hadn't realised that winter had already kicked in and couldn't quite remember when the snow had first fallen, making it impossible for them to arrive at Hogsmeade with warm feet. When they got there, Zonko's was closed and they had walked into Slughorn, who had come to ask if Harry could join them in their next supper. The day was really becoming a huge disappointment. She had found out through Ginny that Harry was trying to avoid these suppers, and by scheduling one at the same time as Dumbledore's meeting, it would mean that Hermione would be sitting alone with a lot of Slytherins once again.

Add to this the fact that they'd just seen Mundungus, who had apparently begun to steal everything from Grimmauld Place that wasn't nailed down (though Harry didn't seem to realise that it actually belonged to him and only attacked Mundungus for stealing from Sirius), the mood wasn't getting any better. And with Ron eyeing the barmaid instead of going out on a date with her alone, as he had hinted at on the train, Hermione was not enjoying herself at all.

That's why she didn't mind it at all when Harry proposed to go back to the castle; to say that the trip to Hogsmeade had lived up to her expectations was a downright lie. They followed Katie Bell and her friend out of the pub. Ron was silent and Harry seemed deep in thought, probably still mad about Mundungus. Hermione sighed. She looked at Katie and Leanne and suddenly wished that she had more female friends; sometimes, boys were just too annoying to be around. However, it didn't seem like Katie and Leanne were having fun either. Now that she looked at them, she noticed that they were actually having an argument.

"Katie, you shouldn't-"

"It's nothing to do with you, Leanne!" Katie replied. Harry had noticed by this point as well, and was also watching the argument. They turned around a corner, just as the two girls had done, and Hermione saw Leanne grabbing a package out of Katie's hand. Katie grabbed it back; the paper around the package got torn, and it fell on the ground. Hermione could faintly see a shimmer of silver before Katie demanded her attention. The girl suddenly rose into the air, like a macabre puppet on strings. Hermione gasped, and she, Ron and Harry ran to both of the girls. She half thought Katie would fly away, but, hovering six feet above the ground, she suddenly started to scream. It was a hellish scream, like Hermione had never heard before. She imagined people under the Cruciatus Curse must sound like this.

Leanne started to scream too. The girl grabbed the ankles of her friend, as though to tug her down, while Katie was still screaming as if she was being tortured. Harry and Ron made an attempt to grab Katie's legs too, but before any of them could do anything else, the girl suddenly fell on top of them: They managed to catch her, but she was writhing so much that they couldn't hold her, and instead slowly brought her to the ground, into the dirty, walked on snow. She was still screaming, and Hermione found that she was panicked: even if she had known what to do, she wouldn't be able to do it. She couldn't say a word, or move a foot.

"Stay there!" Harry shouted at them. "I'm going for help!"

He ran off in the direction of Hogwarts. Ron and Leanne were bent over Katie, who was still screaming as if her lungs were made for nothing else. Leanne had tears streaming down her face, and somehow, that brought Hermione back to earth. She bent down herself, and saw that Ron was trying to talk to the girl.

"Katie? Katie, just relax, everything is going to be fine! Harry's going for help!"

It didn't seem to have any effect on the girl; Hermione wasn't even sure Katie could hear him.

"Got any ideas?" Ron asked her over the screams of Katie. She shook her head, still feeling alarmingly blank.

"In that case, let's just try to hold her still," he said.

She nodded, and along with Leanne, who was almost in hysterics herself, they held Katie's arms to the ground.

"Get back!" a voice shouted suddenly. "Lemme see her!" A huge wave of relief spread over Hermione. Harry was back, with probably one of the best people to have in such a case: Hagrid.

Leanne stopped screaming. "Something's happened to her! I don't know what —"

Hagrid stared at Katie for a second, and then, without a word, bent down, scooped her into his arms and ran off toward the castle. Within seconds, Katie's piercing screams had died away and the only sound was the roaring of the wind. After the non-stop sounds of Katie, the wind actually sounded quite eerie and empty, but it somehow gave Hermione's brain a boost to think clearly again. Harry and Ron were looking at each other, unsure of what to do, or what to think of what they had just seen, but Hermione rushed over to Leanne, finally glad to be able to think again.

"It's Leanne, isn't it? Did it just happen all of a sudden, or —?"

"It was when that package tore," sobbed Leanne. Ron bent down to grab it, but Harry said sharply, "Don't touch it!" Still with her arm around Leanne, who was crying in her shoulder, she Harry crouched down.

"I've seen that before," said Harry, staring at the thing. "It was on display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago. The label said it was cursed. Katie must have touched it." Leanne shook uncontrollably. "How did Katie get hold of this?"

"Well, that's why we were arguing. She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it… Oh no, oh no, I bet she'd been Imperiused and I didn't realize!"

Leanne shook with renewed sobs. Hermione patted her shoulder, gently getting more and more confused herself.

"She didn't say who'd given it to her, Leanne?"

"No… she wouldn't tell me… and I said she was being stupid and not to take it up to school, but she just wouldn't listen and… and then I tried to grab it from her… and — and —" Leanne let out a wail of despair.

"We'd better get up to school," said Hermione, guiding the girl in the direction of the castle. "We'll be able to find out how she is. Come on…."

Harry and Ron were still standing near the necklace, then Harry suddenly wrapped the cursed jewellery in his scarf and hurried after them. Hermione shook her head. Her mind was still catching on what could've happened and in how much danger they had been. Feeling almost sick with worry for Katie, she quickened her pace to the castle.

To say that this hadn't been such a fun day was truly an understatement.

_I know, a lot from the book, and a lot narrating at the beginning, but this was one of those parts were it wasn't interesting enough to turn it in two chapters, but still very important to write about, since it's a huge point in the actual DH-book..._

_As always: thanks to the ones who reviewed and thank to Lisa for editing._

_next up: Ginny and Evelyn..._

_By the way, this is the 30th chapter... I think that deserves a nice long review about what you liked and didn't like so far in the story! Oh, and tell me which characters aren't written very true to the books so I can improve that! As allways, I will reply to all the reviews!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	31. About saying goodbye and leaving

_If JK was Ginny, I wouldn't be even cool enough to pretend I was a Hogwarts-character. I would just remain a Muggle. _

**31. (about saying goodbye and leaving)**

-With lovers there can be "Goodbye". But with friends there will only be "Hello" and "Glad to see you again".-

_Anonymous_

Ginny was pacing her dormitory. She was on the verge of having a tantrum, like a four-year old. The urge to hit, strangle, push, kick or hurt someone or something became bigger and bigger.

This was not fair. Nothing was fair. Life was not fair!

Evelyn was in McGonagalls office, talking to her parents. Frustrated, Ginny walked over to Evelyn's bed, and saw that the letter her friend had received that morning was still lying on it.

_Ev__e – _

_I just heard about what happened in Hogsmeade yesterday. I'm sorry, but your mother and I have agreed that it isn't safe anymore for you to stay in Hogwarts. We will come after dinner to talk to McGonagall or Dumbledore and bring you home. _

_Love, _

_Dad_

Being a Healer, it was obvious how Evelyn's dad had found out so quickly. Ginny was shocked to hear what had happened to Katie, but also very confused about how it could have happened, and angry at the consequences it had for her best friend. Evelyn, on the other hand, had barely registered what had happened to the seventh year, and had instead calmly started packing, having expected the letter any day. Apparently, she had accepted that it wouldn't be possible for her to stay after this, and she had spilled so many tears the past two months that Ginny suspected she didn't have any left.

The door opened, and Suzanne came in.

"You heard about Katie?" the girl asked. Ginny nodded.

"You heard about Evelyn?" Suzanne nodded as well.

Both of them stared at the soon-to-be empty bed, both deep in thought. Ginny wondered vaguely what Hogwarts would be like without Evelyn.

But she slowly came to the conclusion that Evelyn hadn't been there in a while, not since her first letter from home had arrived. Somehow, she had seemed more distant than last year, and little things had made her misery obvious, like the fact that Evelyn hadn't once suggested sneaking to the kitchens: her parents had forbidden her to do anything against the rules this year, or they would take her from school.

Or the fact she hadn't been allowed to go to Hogsmeade yesterday. Ginny knew that Evelyn had known it was only a matter of time before her parents brought her home. And now, time was up.

The door opened again, and Evelyn walked in. Suzanne threw herself in the girl's arms, and started to cry. Evelyn seemed a bit startled, but remained calm.

"What did McGonagall say? And your parents? Where are they?" Ginny asked over Suzanne's sobs.

Evelyn shrugged. "McGonagall said she understood their decision, but she tried to convince them that the castle's still safe, or at least safer than home would be. But she couldn't pretend that Hogwarts isn't a far bigger target for You-Know-Who. She knows they're right. So… that's it, really."

"And now?" Ginny asked quietly, not sure how to deal with this calmness, this indifference that had taken over her friend.

"Now?" Evelyn echoed. "Now I have an hour to pack the rest of my stuff, say goodbye to my friends and to meet my father at the Entrance Hall. My mum is waiting in the village."

Ginny stared. An hour? Only one bloody hour?

"It's not fair," she managed to get out; there was a sudden lump in her throat that prevented her from saying anything else.

"That's life," Evelyn shrugged.

Suzanne seemed to have calmed down. "What are you going to do at home?"

"McGonagall says that if I study hard, I might be able to pass my theory OWLs at the end of this year. So I need updates from both of you," she said, nodding at them.

"Of course we'll write you. And not just with school things. You need to hear about the latest gossip too," Suzanne said. Evelyn smiled a bit.

"Yeah, you'll just be my new possessed diary," Ginny joked. Even though it was a bad one, and not really a subject to joke about at all, Evelyn grinned, looking a bit more like her old self.

"Let's pack," Suzanne said.

With a few waves of their wands, and a hasty search for a missing pair of socks, a book and sneakoscope, they were done in about fifteen minutes. Evelyn decided that she would say goodbye to the rest of her friends and left the room.

"It'll be weird without Evelyn," Suzanne said, looking sadly at the now empty corner of their dormitory that had usually been such a mess. Ginny didn't answer. The urge to hit, strangle, push, kick or hurt someone or something was now enormous again and on the verge of exploding in her stomach.

When the hour was up, Ginny helped Evelyn to the Entrance Hall, Levitating her trunk. Evelyn claimed that she wouldn't need help and that it would be far easier to say goodbye in the common room. Ginny stubbornly said not a word, taking the trunk and following Evelyn out of the portrait hole anyway.

"You will write me, won't you?" Evelyn suddenly asked on the fourth floor stairs. Ginny looked up.

"Of course I will! Suzanne and I told you we would!"

"Yes, I know you will, every day for the first couple of weeks. And then every week, and after a while, once in a month and then after a while, only when something important has happened, until I hear nothing from you and only get your wedding invitations in a few years."

Ginny stood still. "No. The war will have ended by then, and you'll have long since returned to Hogwarts. I promise you, Evelyn. And I also promise that during my free period every Friday after lunch, I will write you a letter. That way, you know when to expect one, and you can scold me when I forget, which I won't."

Evelyn grinned and nodded.

"I would like that, scolding you," she said softly.

"Even if you didn't want me to, I would still write, Eve."

"Evelyn?" Her father stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Need any help?"

"No, I'm fine, Dad. I got my personal donkey," she said, nodding to Ginny. Ginny moved the trunk a bit faster, so it tapped Evelyn's back.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, your donkey couldn't maintain your luggage," she said sarcastically. "Hello Mr. Greyshire," she said to Evelyn's dad. He nodded. Ginny thought she would have felt more angry with the man, but she actually felt only compassion. It must've been hard for him to build a new home and worry about his daughter at the same time. At least now one of his worries would be closer to him and easier to watch over.

"Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye," Evelyn sighed. She turned to Ginny, who set her trunk on the ground and pulled her friend into a fierce hug.

"Look on the bright side: you won't have to hear me snore," Evelyn joked.

"And you won't be bothered by the smell of my feet and shoes after Quidditch."

"I'm gonna miss that smell, though."

"Then I'll make sure to enclose a sock in my next letter."

"Possessed prat."

"Sock-sniffer."

"Bye, Ginny," Evelyn said seriously, and she let go and walked over to her father.

"Bye, Eve," she said softly. She watched them open the door and disappear. For a moment she still stared at the door, whiping her face with her sleeve.

Then, realising that the castle seemed much bigger without her friend, Ginny turned around and walked back alone.

--

_What? Am I really a day too early with updating? I almost can see people rubbing their eyes at such astonishing news. Well, you did see it right... I'm too busy tomorrow, so I thought I do it today... ._

_As always, Thanks (with a capital T) to Lisa and the reviewers of my last chapter. I got a lot, :D! Even though some said they didn't like the last chapter, I'm still gratefull for their compliments for the rest of the story and their constructive critisism!_

_Anyway, I'm wondering what you guys thought of this chapter...Liked it, or actually really didn't?? Either way I'm glad with reviews! They're like flowers: Giving them isn't such a big deal, but you'll make the reciever immensely happy!_

_x-mokimik-x_

_ps: next time...A Slug-club evening ._


	32. About announcing and meeting

_If JK was a puppet-master, I would be jealous of her puppets and secretly play the same game with them as she was playing...though I wouldn't be good in re-enacting..._

**32. (About announcing and meeting)**

"A guest does not have to thank the host, but the host the guest."

_- Russian proverb-_

"You've got to be kidding me!" she said, staring at him in disbelief.

"Sorry, Ginny, I'm not. Quidditch practise will be Tuesday instead of tonight. I have – er – plans this evening," Harry said to her on Monday morning.

"What? Hot date?" she answered, but Harry didn't seem to notice the sarcasm.

"Erm, no. Private lesson with Dumbledore."

Ginny looked up. She hadn't expected him to answer, let alone be honest. And what was so important for Harry to learn that he got private lessons from the Headmaster? Was he still trying to close his mind with Occlumency-lessons? She shuddered, remembering Hermione's idea about how Voldemort might have spied on her….

"But anyway," Harry continued, clearly not knowing what she was thinking about and forcing her to turn her thoughts back to the much more pleasant subject of Quidditch, "could you pass the message on to Demelza?"

"But if we don't have Quidditch practise, I have to go to Slughorn's supper this evening," she groaned. Harry smiled apologetically.

"Hermione goes regularly, and she doesn't seem mind them that much," he tried to console.

"That's because she doesn't have the same temper as our Ginny here, and manages to keep her mouth shut when necessary," Hermione herself interrupted, and sat down next to Ginny.

"Yeah well, I don't fancy hearing McLaggen's rant about the minister for the third time the same evening," she answered, rolling her eyes. "It seems like such a waste of time, talking with Slytherins and other people you don't like. But anyway—" she continued, noticing Hermione's sour expression, "Where's Ron?" she asked. This didn't seem to improve Hermione's mood, though.

"He was talking to Lavender," Harry said, buttering his bread. Ginny shot a glance at Hermione, who seemed busy with her pumpkin juice. However, the way she set her glass back on the table (with a forceful _bang_) indicated that she had heard Harry. Ginny thought it would be wise to change the subject.

"How's Katie?"

Harry shrugged. "We haven't heard anything since last Saturday."

"Hmm… that'll cause us some problems."

Harry nodded. "The Quidditch match isn't this Saturday, but the next one. I hope that's enough time for her to recover."

"And if not?" Hermione asked.

"Then I have to find a substitute," Harry stated simply.

"Oho! Miss Weasley! I'm so glad you could make this gathering of the Slug Club!"

"Hello Professor Slughorn," she answered politely, trying hard not to roll her eyes at the mentioning of the "Slug Club".

"So Mr. Potter is not keeping you hostage to train this evening?" Slughorn asked, offering them a drink.

She grinned. "No, the next practise session will be tomorrow evening."

"And what position do you play? I heard about your excellent Seeking abilities last year from Filius, but I doubt that with Harry back on the team you'll be Seeking again."

"No, I'm a Chaser this year," she said.

"Oho! A Chaser! Just like my guest for this evening!"

"Your guest, Professor?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yes, she will come in an hour, when Mr. Zabini and some of his fellow Slytherins are done with their Quidditch practise," Slughorn explained, looking inordinately pleased.

Ginny now noticed that the supper was indeed lacking some of the usual Slytherins. Hoping (likely in vain) that this might actually turn out tolerably well, she took a sip of her butterbeer.

"So, tell me, I assume you've already heard about the Christmas party I will hold on the last Friday of the term?" he asked, while she and Hermione took a seat. They both shook their heads.

"Oho! Well, I shall insist that both of you come! And Miss Granger, could you invite Mr. Potter also? I wouldn't want him to miss that gathering either!" Hermione smiled and nodded, and Ginny had a feeling that Hermione would almost force Harry to come to the party, just as Slughorn had demanded. She knew that the bushy-haired girl had been very irritated about going to these meetings alone every time. Harry would pay for that.

Slughorn was continuing about the party. "Each of you can bring a guest of course, and there will be coming a lot of my old friends. I hope Eldred Worple can make it – the author, you know. He's busy on a book about vampires, but I think that he will have finished that around that time. Maybe he can even bring one of his subjects!"

"It would be rather interesting to meet a vampire," McLaggen said in a silky tone, and Ginny scowled at him. Before she could comment on his sucking up, though, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in, come in!" Slughorn bellowed. The door opened, and two women stepped inside.

"Professor, this woman said she had an appointment with you?" the first one asked. Ginny had to blink twice before she recognized who it was. Tonks didn't look like herself at all. (If you could say such thing about a Metamorphmagus.) She was thinner and looked even more sad and worried than she had during the summer. Ginny glanced at Hermione, who was also eyeing Tonks worriedly.

"Yes, she does!" Slughorn boomed enthusiastically and now Ginny turned her attention to the woman next to Tonks. Her mouth fell open.

"Gwenog, it's so nice to see you again. Especially after your last victory over the Wasps! Come in, come in! Everyone, this is Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies!"

Gwenog grinned widely, and in the meantime, almost no one noticed that the other witch had disappeared again. Slughorn was introducing everyone to Gwenog, but Ginny didn't listen and could only stare. This was the woman whose picture she had pinned on her wall in her room back home. Her idol ever since Ginny got interested at Quidditch. The woman from the team she and Ron had debated so much over. The Harpies were one of her favourite teams, but Ron had always disagreed. She remembered Gwenog had played for the English national team two years ago.

"…and this is Hermione Granger. Not a big fan of Quidditch, but a brain that can memorize the whole library." Hermione's response to this effusive introduction was to turn an impressive shade of crimson.

"And over here we have Ginny Weasley, one of the Gryffindor chasers! With all the practises they have, I expect she plays marvellously!"

Gwenog was a lot taller than Ginny had imagined and her whole attitude seemed to be used to giving orders and being the centre of the attention. Her face looked a bit sharp, bird-like almost. She gave Ginny a firm handshake and a smile played around her lips.

"Gryffindor, eh? Well, if they play as well as they used to in my time, I'm sure Miss Weasley is an excellent Chaser! I myself lost a few times against them. I was in Ravenclaw, you see," she explained to Ginny, "and between you and me, we had a pretty good team, with me and Terry Olmhand on it, remember, Horace?"

Slughorn nodded. "Oh yes, that was a wonderful team, as I recall!"

"Tell me, what year are you in?" Gwenog asked.

"Fifth," Ginny replied.

She nodded. "Well, let me know if you're interested in trying out for a position as Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies once you're done. If you play as well as Horace claims, we can always use you," Gwenog said, with a wink.

Ginny could do nothing but beam. The Slug Club didn't seem to be such a waste after all.

--

_Weirdest thing about this chapter? I wrote this, when Deathly Hallows wasn't out yet... when we also didn't know about Ginny's further career as a Holyhead Harpy...I never squeed so much as when I found out my wild guess suddenly became canon!_

_Anyway, back to the usual thanks to my reviewers and editor Lisa, without whoms help this chapter would be full of spelling-mistakes..._

_next up: one of my favorite scenes in the whole book: the Greenhouse! (part 1)_

_Keep sending your reviews full of complaints, praise, critisims, things you like (or don't) and theories! I will reply to them personally!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	33. About pressing and mustering

_If JK was my homework assingment, it would be done by now. I know that's not exacly a disclaimer, but true all the same_

**33. (about pressing and collecting)**

-Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. -

_Jane Austen_

"If I had people staring at me like that if I played professional Quidditch, I'd stop right away!" Ginny exclaimed. "The way Zabini was staring at her was just perverse!"

Hermione smiled, surprised. "I didn't know you wanted to play professional Quidditch after Hogwarts."

"Well, I don't. At least not while the war is still going on and there are more important things to take care of. But when it's done… why not? Though I wouldn't mind becoming something else either, I still liked that Gwenog Jones asked me to try out after Hogwarts! Ron won't believe it!"

Hermione nodded, but her mind had wandered to the announcement Slughorn had made that evening. Ginny seemed to have guessed her thoughts:

"That Christmas party should be interesting too. Have you thought about who you'll ask?" she teased. Hermione felt herself growing red, but before Ginny forced an answer out of her, the girl said, "You know what? I think I don't even want to know. But please do something about liking my brother: either try to forget him, or ask him. This whole thing where you're not doing anything won't get you anywhere."

She nodded, but Hermione hated it when Ginny seemed so logical. It was hard to disagree with her.

"So how are you and Dean?" she said, hoping to change the subject.

"We're… I don't know… okay, I guess."

"Well, you sound confident," Hermione replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, he sometime's just so…. protective. And jealous, too."

"What do you mean?"

"Last week, when Neville was helping me with Herbology, Dean said afterwards that he was flirting with me. It's ridiculous! We were talking about plants, for Merlin's sake!"

Hermione smiled.

"But he's still sweet and a very good kisser," she shrugged.

"You're not that superficial, Ginny."

"I'm not?"

"No, you're not."

"Okay, I'm not."

They smiled at each other.

_Prefect duties are a blessing_, Hermione thought. It would be the ideal time to ask Ron to Slughorn's party. Ron seemed to act different when they were out on patrols. Sweeter, more caring, less hesitant and annoying. In other words: he seemed even more perfect to Hermione.

But there was one little problem. They didn't have rounds until Thursday. And she had a feeling that the subject of Slughorn's party would be reaching Ron's ears much sooner than that, which would make asking him more awkward. Without Ron knowing about the Christmas gathering, she could say they could bring guests. With the gossiping of fifth years around you, all wondering who would be taking whom to the party, the word 'date' had to be used, a word that would remind them of two years ago. Or at least she would be reminded of two years ago. She didn't know what Ron was thinking and that was exactly why she was so nervous in the first place.

So making up her mind (which seemed to be filled with sentences Ginny had said to her the previous evening), she decided that talking to Ron would be the first thing she would do the following morning.

Except that she was a coward. _And discussing something like that over breakfast seemed highly inappropriate_.

Then, of course during Herbology, Harry had started talking about what had happened with Dumbledore the previous evening, which gave Hermione enough to think about for the rest of the day. After all, who would think about something as superficial as asking Ron out when Harry was actually learning about Voldemort's childhood?

She had found that to be a great excuse for not asking Ron anything at least until dinner, or telling Harry and Ron anything at all about Slughorn's party… if not for the fact that Harry brought up the subject himself.

She took a deep breath, and mustering up al her courage, she started to talk.

"Oh, it was quite fun, really," she said, hopefully sounding as nonchalant as she wanted to. While putting on protective goggles she noticed that her hands were actually trembling.

"I mean, he drones on about famous exploits a bit, and he absolutely fawns on McLaggen because he's so well connected, but he gave us some really nice food and he introduced us to Gwenog Jones."

"Gwenog Jones?" said Ron, his eyes widening behind his own goggles. "_The _Gwenog Jones? Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?" Ron stared at her as if he had seen… well, not a ghost, but at least something spectacular.

"That's right," she said, trying to steer the conversation more in the direction of the party. "Personally, I thought she was a bit full of herself, but —" However, Professor Sprout bustled over.

"Quite enough chat over here! You're lagging behind, everybody else has started, and Neville's already got his first pod!"

Hermione saw that Neville was indeed quite far with the assignment. "Okay, Professor, we're starting now!" said Ron, adding quietly, when she had turned away again, "should've used Muffliato, Harry."

"No, we shouldn't!" she said at once, forgetting about her plans to ask Ron out for a moment and becoming irritated at the mention of using one of the Prince's spells on one of the teachers. "Well, come on... we'd better get going...," she continued, glancing at Neville, who had now opened his pod. She knew that if Neville really believed in himself, he would be much better in Herbology than she was. Today, however, she really didn't mind. She was too busy with believing in herself and her own courage (or lack of it) right now.

They dived at the gnarled stump between them. It sprang to life at once; vines flew out of the top and whipped through the air. One tangled itself in her hair, but before it had tugged any of it out of her head, Ron beat it back with a pair of secateurs. She shot him a smile, but Ron acted as if he hadn't noticed. Hermione felt suddenly a bit of a fool, like Lavender. Was she really going to be that damsel in distress, who always needed a guy to save her, while she fluttered her eye-lashes and acted too girly for her own good?

A hole had now opened in the middle of all the tentacle-like branches and, as if to answer her mental question in the negative, she plunged her arm bravely into the hole to retrieve the pod. However, it wasn't as easy as she had planned: the plant had closed the hole again as a trap and she wasn't able to move her arm anymore. It felt very, very slimy inside the plant. Harry and Ron were busy wrenching at the vines, forcing the hole to open again. In the meantime, she tried to grab a pod she felt just beyond her fingertips. When she managed to snatch her arm free, she took the pod with her. Immediately, the plant took his tentacles inside, and looked like a dead piece of wood once more.

She felt a wave of pride flowing through her veins. After just putting her hands in a dangerous Snargaluff plant, and succeeding in retrieving a pod, asking Ron out shouldn't be so hard…

If only her mouth would open and she could say something.

_Oh, I know I can expect a lot of angry reviews of post-phoning the real action in the greenhouse, but I had planned to do it this way all along...maybe I shouldn't have teased you guys with promisig a "greenhouse-scene" below the previous chapter. However, I can promise for the next chapter a real date-asking chapter... Though you all know how that actually meant nothing, since they didn't even go on said date, but still... we should cherish the few little moments between Ron and Hermione ._

_anyway, thanks for reviewing and as always some applause to my editor Lisa...:)_

_I hope you will leave a review, because they are like pillows: comforting and you can never have enough of them around you!_


	34. About asking and succeeding

_Last time I checked, JK was busy with polishing her 100000000 awards, while I still only have one cup (from gym, when I was 6) lying in the back of my closet...So nope, still not her_

**34. (About asking and succeeding)**

-To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. To just give. That takes courage, because we don't want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt.-

_Madonna _

"You know, I don't think I'll be having any of these in my garden when I've got my own place," said Ron, pushing his goggles up onto his forehead and wiping sweat from his face.

"Pass me a bowl," said Hermione, holding the pod at arm's length; Harry handed one over and she dropped the pod into it.

"Don't be squeamish, squeeze it out, they're best when they're fresh!" called Professor Sprout.

"Anyway," she continued, "Slughorn's going to have a Christmas party, Harry, and there's no way you'll be able to wriggle out of this one because he actually asked me to check your free evenings, so he could be sure to have it on a night you can come." That was actually a lie, but she was almost sure that if she didn't manage to bring Harry to the party, Slughorn wouldn't like her "_brain that can memorize the whole library_" that much anymore. Besides, the chances of Ron saying 'yes' would be bigger if his best friend was be there too. Harry groaned and rolled his eyes. Meanwhile Ron, who was attempting to burst the pod in the bowl by using both hands, stood up, and squashed it as hard as he could, saying angrily, "And this is another party just for Slughorn's favourites, is it?"

"Just for the Slug Club, yes," said Hermione. She didn't understand why Ron suddenly seemed so upset. The pod flew out from under Ron's fingers and hit the greenhouse glass, rebounding onto the back of Professor Sprout's head and knocking off her old, patched hat. Harry went to retrieve the pod, but Ron continued, angrier now that he hadn't managed to burst the pod.

"The Slug Club? What idiot called it that?" he asked sarcastically.

Hermione felt a wave of anger, mingled with some panic. This was not how the conversation was supposed to be going. Ron wasn't supposed to be angry and he would have understood by now that she wanted to bring him. What had gone wrong? And why couldn't you learn such things out of a book? She was sure that if it were possible, she wouldn't have made a mistake, or at least would know what her mistake had been. She had never felt so clueless on an exam….

"Look, I didn't make up the name 'Slug Club' —"

"'Slug Club,'" repeated Ron with a sneer. "It's pathetic. Well, I hope you enjoy your party. Why don't you try hooking up with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen Slug —"

Suddenly, Hermione understood what she had done wrong. How could she have forgotten to actually _ask_ him? She felt herself turning red, and not only because Ron was making her angry.

"We're allowed to bring guests, and I was going to ask you to come, but if you think it's that stupid then I won't bother!" She tried to avoid Ron's gaze, but felt his stare burning into her.

"You were going to ask me?" Ron said. But Hermione felt a sudden wave of anger flowing over her. The boy standing next to her was stupid. Here she was, Hermione Granger, with a brain that could memorize a library, pod-retriever extraordinaire, and yet that boy managed her to make a complete fool out of her. Why had she even bothered to ask in the first place? She was sure that if she would say the right things to McLaggen, he would indeed easily go out with her.

"Yes," she answered angrily. "But obviously if you'd rather I hooked up with McLaggen..."

Ron didn't say anything until she looked up.

"No, I wouldn't," he finally said in a very soft voice. His face was crimson. Their eyes locked, and her anger flew away. She remembered again why she had "bothered to ask him in the first place." Quite suddenly, something shattered nearby, and their eye contact was broken.

"_Reparo_," Harry said hastily, a bit red, and only then did Hermione notice his presence again. She felt her face turn even more red, and bowed over her book to find a way to juice Snargaluff pods. There was no way she was able to look at either of them. Ever again.

"Hand that over, Harry," she said after a few moments. "It says we're supposed to puncture them with something sharp…." She took her potions knife from her bag, and pierced the pod with it from different sides, searching for the weakest spot. Ron and Harry were busy with the stump again, trying to retrieve the second pod.

"Gotcha!" she heard Ron yell at the same time she stabbed the first pod. She could barely hide her disgust as a squelching-sound was made and the pod in her hands spilled out wriggling green tubers.

She felt that Harry's gaze was still on her and looked up. He'd certainly heard some of their conversation; the only question was how much. This must've been just as awkward for him as it had been for both her and Ron. Well, no, not entirely, she reasoned, since Harry had no idea what was going on, and where this had suddenly come from. Or did he?

"You asked him yet?" Ginny dived into the seat next to her in the common room that evening. Arnold the pygmy puff was sitting happily on her shoulder, humming a bit. Ron and Harry were off in the library.

"Yes."

"He said yes, then?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Yes."

"See, I told you it wasn't that difficult," the redhead said smugly. However, Hermione didn't find it necessary to tell all the details just yet. For now, she would let Ginny believe that it had in fact been easy to ask her brother and hadn't involved an awkward friend, some tubers, and -quite normal for her and Ron- almost a fight.

--

_Oh, I'm a bit later than usual (though there's still 40 minutes monday here, so technically, I'm on time) but my computer spaced for a few hours... Thank Merlin it works again..._

_Well, I hope this was worth the wait and that the conversation with Ginny made it a bit less typed-straight-from-the-book-chapter._

_Thanks for the many, many reviews I got last week- and if I haven't already in your personal replies, I'm sorry I reacted so late this week with replying to them all. Shortly, this week was hell. _

_As always, thanks to Lisa, who has written her own story which is far better written than mine...It's called "The project" and on my favorites. Maybe that'll keep some of you silent when you nag that I have to update faster ;) (kidding of course! I totally love any sort of nag, and thanks to copy-paste-keys, I can write until eternity about the reasons why I don't update quicker...)_

_keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	35. About writing and missing

_If I were JK, I probably wouldn't have to write a huge paper on the relation between women and propaganda in Nazi-Germany. I would be sitting in one of my great houses, enjoying the weather... So I guess I'm not JK_

**35. (about writing and missing)**

-I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart.-  
_Anne Frank_

_Dear Evelyn, _

_So here's your first Friday free-period letter. Since I haven't missed you at all this week, I really had to force myself to write this one. _

_I'm kidding, of course. I actually had to force myself to wait until today, because otherwise I would get into trouble with my homework and other such unimportant things at school. _

_Everything here is fine. And I hate it, because at the same time, it's not. Hogwarts seems different without you. Emptier, I guess. I don't know. I feel like that stupid first-year again, afraid of everything. Though this time I'm better in hiding it. And I have you to write to, instead of an evil wizard in a secret diary that also controls a huge snake that attacks other students… but still. It's fine here, but no fun._

_Suzie and Hermione both claim that I've been awfully moody since you left, but I'm not the right person to judge. I guess I've been snapping at people more than usual, but that's just because they're all so… I don't know how to describe it. They're all trying to protect me, and think I'll be helpless without them, but I'm not. I miss you, but they don't understand that they can't replace you._

_Katie is still in St. Mungo's. Rumours are that she has lost her arm and is in an irreversible coma, but hopefully those really are just rumours. Apparently she's still unconscious, in any case. Harry has therefore asked Dean to play in her place until upcoming match – Dean's thrilled. Our first practise is tonight, and I will tell you all about it in my next letter. I hope Dean doesn't play too poorly and can get into shape before the match. We'll beat Slytherin, of course._

_Suzie also promised to keep you posted, didn't she? Well, if she didn't, there's very little going on in the rumours and gossip department. Romilda Vane, that annoying girl in fourth-year, walked past me the other day and asked me about Harry. Apparently, he now has a secret fan-club (which doesn't contain me, before you ask) of fourth years. I haven't teased him about it yet; he seems to have a lot of other things going on. _

_Another rumour has it that you are not just pulled out of school, but are actually being held hostage by Death Eaters and that Colin is attempting to save you, but hasn't succeeded yet. People's fantasy is far too big here. Though I think that if you actually were kept as a hostage, Colin would definitely want to save you. What's going on with you two anyway? Were you dating before you left? And if so, how come you never said anything to your best friend about it? (That's me, by the way.)_

_The biggest bit of gossip I can tell you is that Hermione finally asked my brother out. There's a Christmas party, organized by Slughorn, and after some pushing from me, she finally got up the courage to ask him. Now just hope that neither of them does anything stupid before then… which of course they probably will. _

_It's weird to write about all these little school problems, when there's actually so much danger outside these walls, and, with the attack on Katie, also inside. According to Hermione, Harry has this whole theory about how Malfoy is a Death Eater and is trying to kill someone. Who that someone is, and how he's planning to do so, remains a mystery. _

_According to Ron, he and Hermione are having a hard time talking the idea out of Harry's head… I don't know. It sounds a bit far-fetched. What do you think? _

_Oh, and before I forget, I wrote Fred and George this week, and mentioned you not being here. They were actually pretty shocked to hear that, and promised to send you something "that would cheer her up". So be careful when you open your mail!_

_Then the least favourite part of the letter: the homework. It still seems like every teacher is determined not to let us have any social life at all, because the amounts they're giving us are only increasing. For Potions we're to write an essay about the Draught of Peace, how it's used and its long-term side effects. Then, for Transfiguration, McGonagall wants us to finish up the eighth chapter, so finish it, summarize it and answer the questions in the last paragraph._

_Let's start with the good news: t__here's no work for Herbology; Sprout dismissed us early because she had to take Dianne to the Hospital Wing because she was attacked by the flesh-eating sunflower in the fourth greenhouse (you should have seen it: her hair is really uneven, she's sprouting yellow flower-petals everywhere and there are marks on her whole neck)._

_Astronomy was cancelled due to the weather, but we still have to write an essay about the relationship between Venus and Mars, and how their cycles influence each other. Nine inches._

_Snape wants us to write a three-foot essay on the Imperius curse: how to fight it, and how to recognize its use in daily life. He's in a foul mood, so if you happen to send yours in, you'll probably get a 'D' no matter what you write._

_You also have to answer questions 15 through 30, little things about wand-techniques. They're harder than they seem, according to Colin. I haven't started myself. _

_Then for Ancient Runes, you have to read the first five chapters of that book she handed out the last lesson and summarize it. I don't have Arithmancy, so you'd have to ask Suzie about the homework for it. _

_Are you really planning to do all this? Because if I was sitting at home, at least I could be glad I didn't have homework! And how will you write essays about spells that you can't practise? Or potions that you've never seen? Besides, there isn't such thing as a second Hogwarts library standing around. Where were you planning to get your information?_

_I'm sorry, I didn't mean to second-guess you. It's just that I find it hard to believe that you're there, and not next to me during class, or in the four-poster bed on the other side of the room. _

_Write to me soon, okay? I want to know how you are, how your family is, and how you're dealing with everything that has been going on. In the meantime – here's my sock, just as promised. _

_Love, _

_Ginny_

_--_

_hmm... probably not what you guys had expected to find this week, but let me know if you liked this form of writing..._

_I have to apologize in the name of my editor, Lisa: she was too busy to edit this chapter, so I did it myself... If there are too many grammar and spelling mistakes in it, don't worry: we'll replace this chapter for the edited version next week..._

_Next week is another important chapter from the books... I won't tell which one, but those of you who have read HBP recently should be able to know about which scene I'm talking about..._

_Review me about this chapter and I might even give a sneak-peak to the reviews I like most :P (that means that you have to write more than; "Love it, update soon!")_

_x-mokimik-x_

_ps: this chapter has now been revised. If you still find errors, please lt me know. _


	36. About kissing and fighting

_If were JK, I wouldn't be up this late, because I forgot to post my next chapter on . I would probably be sleeping, like any sane person._

**36. (about kissing and attacking)**

-Family love is messy, clinging, and of an annoying and repetitive pattern, like bad wallpaper.-

_Friedrich Nietzsche_

"Dean, more to the left! You're a team; Ginny and Demelza will take the rest of the field!"

Dean nodded and moved more towards the upper stands. Demelza passed the quaffle to him, and, aiming at the left goal hoop, Dean scored while Ron was making a dive in the wrong direction. Ginny frowned. She didn't know what was wrong with Ron, but he seemed to be getting worse instead of better.

They had played for just over half an hour that evening, and Ginny had already scored 4 goals, but instead of Ron finally getting warmed up, his technique was becoming more and more wild. She wanted to rush over to Dean, to congratulate him on his first goal, but suddenly the whistle was blown. Ginny looked up, and saw Demelza zigzagging towards the ground near the goalposts, with a blood-covered face and on the verge of tears. Next to her, Ron had landed, trying to apologize. Ginny rushed over.

"It was an accident, I'm sorry, Demelza, really sorry! I just —"

"Panicked," Ginny said angrily, landing next to Demelza and examining her lip. "You prat, Ron, look at the state of her!"

"I can fix that," Harry's voice suddenly sounded from behind of her. He landed next to them and muttered something. The spell seemed to work; at least the swelling seemed to go down a bit.

"And Ginny," Harry continued, now looking at her, "don't call Ron a prat, you're not the Captain of this team —"

"Well, you seemed too busy to call him a prat and I thought someone should —"

She thought she saw a flicker of a smile playing around Harry's mouth, but wasn't sure. When he spoke again, he seemed quite serious.

"In the air, everyone, let's go..."

But the training didn't seem to improve after that. Ron saved only one goal, and Ginny was surprised he hadn't fallen off his broom with all those wrong techniques he'd used. Dean, on the other hand, seemed to be fine: he played almost as well as Katie.

"Good work, everyone, I think we'll flatten Slytherin," Harry said encouragingly at the end of the practise. Ginny smiled back, but could barely hide an irritated snort. Harry knew all too well that his best friend hadn't played well at all.

"Coming?" Dean asked softly. Ginny nodded and followed him out of the locker room.

"So, how was your first practise as Chaser?" she asked playfully.

"It's great! I think it went pretty well!"

"Yeah, you were really good! Just work on those things Harry said after practise and you'll be even better then Katie!"

Dean grinned. "Come on, I know a shortcut to the tower," he said and pushed aside a tapestry to reveal an empty, narrow corridor.

"Why are you in such a rush to get into the common room? Is your other girlfriend waiting?" she teased.

Dean didn't answer with words. Instead, he pushed her softly against the wall and kissed her. Ginny smiled. (In her head, because it was a bit hard with Dean kissing her like that.) The kiss intensified and she felt that wonderful sensation in her stomach…

"Oi!"

They broke apart, and Ginny looked up. Ron and Harry were standing not to far from them, both with odd expressions on their faces. Harry looked like he was made of stone, while Ron's face was full of anger and annoyance. She could feel her face turning red.

"What?" she said, trying not to sound embarrassed.

"I don't want to find my own sister snogging people in public!"

"This was a deserted corridor till you came butting in!" she retorted. She felt that Dean was standing behind her, fidgeting, but Ginny's embarrassment had been replaced by anger.

"Er…c'mon, Ginny," said Dean, "let's go back to the common room…."

"You go!" she nearly shouted. "I want a word with my dear brother!" He squeezed her hand, then left quickly.

"Right," she said, glaring at Ron, "let's get this straight once and for all. It is none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them, Ron -"

"Yeah, it is!" said Ron, just as angrily. "D'you think I want people saying my sister's a -"

"A what?" shouted Ginny, though she knew perfectly well what her brother had wanted to say. She drew her wand. "A what, exactly?"

Her idea had been to tell Ron off for butting in all the time, for thinking she was still eleven, but now that he had taken this approach, she was too far gone to calm down and tell him he had to stay out of her life.

"He doesn't mean anything, Ginny-" Harry said, but she interrupted him.

"Oh yes he does!" she said. "Just because he's never snogged anyone in his life, just because the best kiss he's ever had is from our Auntie Muriel-" She knew it was a mean dig, but she wasn't really in control of what she was saying anymore.

"Shut your mouth!" bellowed Ron, bypassing red and turning maroon. But Ginny had had it. She remembered how Ron had hit Demelza, how he was always meddling with her business, how he had told the twins about Dean and Michael, how he was hurting Hermione by being the insensitive prick he was….

"No, I will not! I've seen you with Phlegm, hoping she'll kiss you on the cheek every time you see her, it's pathetic! If you went out and got a bit of snogging done yourself, you wouldn't mind so much that everyone else does it!" Ginny was steaming. The urge to physically attack Ron was getting stronger.

Ron had pulled out his wand too; Harry stepped swiftly between the two of them.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" he roared, trying to get a clear shot at her around Harry, who was now standing in front of her with his arms outstretched. "Just because I don't do it in public-!" The fact that Harry was actually throwing himself in front of her as a human shield didn't stop Ginny in the least. She knew that Ron wasn't speaking the truth. Hermione would've known such a thing if it had been true.

"Been kissing Pigwidgeon, have you? Or have you got a picture of Auntie Muriel stashed under your pillow?" she shrieked, trying to push Harry away.

"You—" A streak of orange light flew under Harry's left arm and missed Ginny by inches, but before Ginny could curse him with something really nasty (she wasn't sure what, but had decided that it had to be painful and annoying, just like Ron himself), Harry had switched protecting Ron, pushing him up against the opposite wall. Clearly he knew who they were up against.

"Don't be stupid-"

"Harry's snogged Cho Chang!" she shouted, not sure what more to say. The rage was slowly subsiding, and she already felt some guilt in her stomach for her explosion. However, what Ron had suggested about her before was now slowly registering in her mind, and she couldn't stop the last dregs of her anger coming out. "And Hermione snogged Viktor Krum, it's only you who acts like it's something disgusting, Ron, and that's because you've got about as much experience as a twelve-year-old!"

And with that, she stormed away, suddenly realising she was crying.

She hated the things Ron had said.

She hated Ron.

But most of all, she hated herself. She had said things to her brother that had been too awful to say, even to him. When the portrait hole opened, she stormed trough the common room, to her dormitory, not noticing Dean was standing near the fireplace waiting for her. She didn't need him at the moment.

The only person she needed was Evelyn.

_Well, I'm sure that a lot of people have been waiting for this scene... hope you liked it, which you probably did, since it doesn't differ that much from the book..._

_Thanks as allways to Lisa, who now edited 2 chapters in one week, which means that chapter 35 is now mistake-free (I hope)_

_Keep reading and leave a review!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	37. About snapping and shouting

______

If I was JK, I would propably not have spend my whole day in a library, panicking for my upcoming final tomorrow...

**37. (about snapping and shouting) **

-"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."-

Mark Twain

"Good morning!" she greeted them that Saturday at breakfast. The boys barely noticed her arrival. They both looked as though they hadn't slept well. Harry had bags under his eyes and was looking lifelessly at his bowl of porridge, as if he wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. Ron was pouring pumpkin juice into his glass, and Hermione had never known anyone could do something simple as pouring juice so aggressively. She deduced that the Quidditch practise the previous evening had not been fun.

However, she needed them to snap out of their lethargic state: there was some serious studying that needed to be done today.

"Could you pass me the pumpkin juice, Ron?"

"Get it yourself," he snapped back, though his left hand nearly brushed the jug.

Her eyebrows shot up of their own accord and she looked to Harry for an explanation of Ron's behaviour. However, Harry didn't seem to have noticed and was still elsewhere with his thoughts.

She grabbed the jug herself, pretending it hadn't happened.

"So how was practise yesterday? Did Dean fit into the team, Harry?"

"If you want to know, ask him yourself. You've got a mouth, haven't you?" Ron answered before Harry had opened his mouth. Eating the last two pieces of his bread, he shoved backwards and declared: "I have to get my stuff. Meet you guys in the library in half an hour." With that, he left.

Hermione stared at her plate. What had she done wrong? Normally Ron only acted this way when they were having a fight, but last she'd checked, nothing had happened. The last prefect duties on Thursday had actually been nicer than ever. Was it something she had said on Friday, just before practise? Or had something happened at practise itself? But what did she have to do with that? She stared at Harry until he met her gaze and shrugged.

"He's just in a mood. Quidditch didn't go that well yesterday," he explained shortly.

"But—," she wanted to press the matters further, but Harry didn't seem talkative at all.

"Hi," Ginny greeted, shoving in next to Hermione and grabbing a Belgian waffle from a plate. Harry stood up suddenly, as if stung.

"I…er…have to get my stuff too. See you in a moment." He left quickly, his face red. Hermione raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything, only nodded. This situation was getting more and more weird.

Ginny didn't seem to be a ray of sunshine either, but looked less disgruntled than the boys.

It must have been something with Quidditch then. Maybe it was best to not mention it.

"Have you heard anything from Evelyn since she left?"

Ginny shook her head.

"I sent her a letter yesterday. I expect I will get one from her today or tomorrow. I miss her. It feels as if I'm all alone, even though I still have other friends."

"Well, you'll have to get used to it, unfortunately. It must be harder for Evelyn, though."

Ginny nodded. Hermione could tell that she wasn't actually cheering her up, and forgetting her resolution to not mention Quidditch, she asked:

"So how was Dean yesterday? Was Harry okay with him on the team?"

"Oh, he was pretty good. Not as good as Katie: he needs some practise on his aiming skills, but of course I can't say anything about that. That's Harry's job," the girl replied a bit more sarcastically than she had probably intended.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," Ginny said hastily, checking her watch. "You know, I've promised to meet Neville for my Herbology tutoring in the common room in fifteen minutes. I had better get back to prepare. See you, Hermione."

And Ginny stood up and left too.

It was very weird. As if her friends were all hiding something from her. What could she possibly have done wrong?

Harry seemed to have snapped out of his strange mood when she arrived in the library, though he was still quieter than usual. Ron's mood, on the other hand, only seemed to get worse.

"Let's write that Potions essay first, shall we?" Hermione suggested. "I'll get the books..."

"As if we need books for that. Please! We have the Prince's book," Ron snorted.

"Yes," she answered, feeling the irritation creeping up, "But I really think there should be more background information in our essays than just the things listed in Harry's copy of Advanced Potionmaking."

"Do it your way, then. I'll start at Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Should I get books for you also? I happen to know that there's an excellent one about—"

"No! I don't need your help or your constant meddling in my homework!"

The force with which he said it scared Hermione. Was this really Ron, the guy she liked and had asked out only a few days ago?

"Okay," she answered in a small voice. Maybe, if she could just pretend that Ron wasn't acting strange at all, he would snap out of his mood, and be normal again….

But at eight o'clock that night, Ron was still being harsh, angry and rude and she still hadn't been able to figure out why. Harry had tried to keep the peace, but she was sick of being treated in such a way.

"What is your problem?" she asked him angrily, after he had snorted at her comment about being glad they had finished their homework.

"What do you mean?"

"What have I done wrong? Did I say something to you? Have I offended you in some way?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because clearly, something's bothering you!"

"Well, it's none of your business, know-it-all. Really, come to meddle in my problems again, have you now?"

"No, but when you're taking it out on me—"

"I'm not taking it out on you, since I don't have a problem!"

"So you just always treat your friends like this?"

"I don't mother them as you do!"

"I'm not mothering! I'm just asking what your problem is!"

"Well, here's a little advice: keep yourself and your asking away from me!"

"I will, then, since you clearly don't need to be asked after or cared for!" she shouted.

"Good!" Ron shouted back.

"Well, fine!" she screeched.

"Fine!"

She had opened her mouth halfway, to say something again, but realised there was nothing to be said anymore. She closed her mouth, glared at him, and stalked away towards the girls' dormitories, slamming the door behind her.

She heard Ron swear, but didn't bother to listen. She was far too angry herself.

For the next few days, Hermione was still mad at Ron, but it hadn't come to a shouting match again. She was mostly tired and tried to avoid him, hoping his foul mood would clear up on its own. The Sunday of that weekend was spent with Ginny, who managed to clear up some things for her, but still couldn't explain to Hermione why Ron was taking it out on her.

"So he caught you and Dean?"

"Yes, and then he started to rant about how he didn't want to find his sister snogging in public and that I should be more discreet."

"And then?"

"Well, I got mad too; I mean, it's none of his business! Dean suggested that I ignore him and go to the common room."

"But you didn't go with him?" she guessed.

"No, I wanted to tell Ron once and for all that he should stay out of my business! That it was my own decision whom to date and whom not. And that the corridor was empty and discreet before they stormed in!" She seemed to become angry just thinking about it.

"Then what?"

Ginny shrugged. "Then Ron started to get mad also and we shouted at each other. Harry seemed to think we were going hex each other. Which we probably would've done, except that he got in between us."

"Still, I don't understand how after a fight with you, he's suddenly mad at me," she said more to herself then to Ginny. Ginny shrugged again, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Isn't he just mad at everyone, not just you?"

"No, he's being moody and cranky with everyone, but really angry at me."

"I don't know either," Ginny said softly, staring at the lake they were walking around. "But Ron usually clears up after a few days. Give him time," she advised and then started to talk about the letter from Evelyn that she had just received.

Hermione tried to give Ron time. But by Monday afternoon, he still hadn't "cleared up", and it had been a living hell to sit in the same classes as he did. She tried to talk to Harry about Ron, but he still didn't seem to be on earth, especially when she started talking about the fight. When she wanted to talk about it, he seemed highly uncomfortable, got red, and used every method he knew to change the subject.

Still, being in a fight with Ron (because even though she didn't see it that way, he obviously did), had some benefits. With her head a bit out of the clouds, she had more time for other things. Hermione had started to ponder more about who the Prince could be, who was trying to smuggle things into Hogwarts (because Harry was clearly wrong with his theory about Malfoy being a Death Eater), and by Wednesday, she had even looked up what sort of curse Katie could possibly have been hit by. Of course she thought about Ron, but now that he was acting so distant towards her, Hermione's feelings about him seemed to be calmer, and easily overtaken by her common sense, which told her that she should forget about him, or at least ignore him if he acted so stupid.

"Ron doesn't seem too happy lately, does he?"

Hermione had gone off to bed early, but her eyes snapped open upon hearing Parvati's voice coming through the curtains of her four-poster bed. The other girls must think she was asleep, or they wouldn't be talking now.

"Yes, I don't know what's bothering him," Lavender said, sighing.

"Maybe he's found out you have a crush on him," Parvati suggested.

"And why would that make him mad?" came the sharp reply, and Hermione wouldn't have wanted to stand in Parvati's shoes at that moment.

"I don't know… guys can be weird."

"Not Ron," Lavender answered testily. Hermione could barely contain a snort. Yeah, Ron's never weird.

"He's probably still mad at his sister. I heard from Demelza that she and Ron had a fight about Dean."

"Hmm… I would be mad too, if my sister told me I had as much experience as a twelve-year-old."

Hermione's eyes widened. Ginny hadn't told her about that particular insult. It could be just a rumour of course, but on the other hand, it sounded like something the redhead might have said.

"We'll see… Maybe he's just nervous for the match on Saturday."

"Yeah. Slytherin won't stand a chance."

"I don't know. I heard that they've practiced a lot—"

But Hermione had stopped listening. For now, she had heard enough and had made her mind up about what to do. If Lavender was waiting for Ron to come around, she would do the opposite: somehow, she was going to find out why he was so mad at her. And in the meantime, she was going to have another talk with Ginny. The girl obviously hadn't told her everything.

* * *

_You will probably bite your nails of in frustration by now, wondering when I will come with the Quidditch-Felix-Snogging-Bird-scene... don't worry, it will come...chapter 41 is the famous bird-shouting-match...the reason why this will take so long? Because after that chapter, there really isn't much more romance between Hermione and Ron in the 6th book... we should cherish the moments when they are still speaking to each other, even though it's by shouting..._

_Besides, you shouldn't complain. This text was actually 2 chapters, which means that it's pretty long for my doing..._

_Leave a review if you dissagree, found a grammar-mistake, or just want to make a comment on something..._

_x-mokimik-x_

_ps: As allways, I'll reply to the reviews, but since I'm busy with my finals, it'll probably take a while... don't get impatient or discouraged!_

_19/7/2008: updated_


	38. About hiding and feeling guilt

_If I would be JK, I would read about medival history because I would find it enjoyable, not because I have a final about it in less than 24 hours..._

**38. (about hiding and feeling guilt)**

"A guilty conscience needs no accuser"

_Proverb_

"I heard something really interesting last night," Hermione said, leaning over her shoulder as she served herself breakfast.

"What?" she asked, hoping the question sounded offhanded.

She hadn't told Hermione because she knew the girl would be upset… like she was now. Trying to keep facts away from the bookworm: what had she been thinking? Dean, who was sitting across from her, looked up at the tone of Hermione's sweet voice. A bit too sweet, actually. If Ginny didn't know better, she'd think Hermione was trying to impersonate Umbridge… and succeeding.

"Oh, just some details about the fight you had with Ron." Ginny tried not to look at her, and instead focused on Dean, who was trying to hide behind his paper. Coward. That's the way to save your girl, she couldn't help but think. When she didn't answer, Hermione pressed on:

"For instance, I heard you said to him that he had as much experience as—"

"Yes, yes, I think I remember what I said to him," she said hastily. She really didn't want for Dean to hear exactly how mad she had been. It would only make him feel uncomfortable. After all, the poor guy had to sleep in the same room as her brother.

"Then why didn't you tell me? And what exactly did you say?" the girl hissed.

"Because it doesn't matter. Ron's still mad at everyone for a stupid reason."

"Ginny, you know Ron better than I do, and even I know that when you tell Ron these sorts of things, he starts believing them and losing all his self-confidence!"

"Yeah, well, he deserved it," she replied, more than slightly annoyed.

"Did he? So I guess I deserve the treatment he's giving me, too?" Hermione asked, looking very dangerous.

"That's not what I—" But she broke her sentence off there; Hermione had walked away and Ginny sighed.

"Trouble?" Dean asked cautiously.

"Yes," she snapped back. "And thanks for pretending you didn't hear! Really helped me a lot!" Angry, she stood up. This was going to be a long day…

Dear Evelyn,

You told me in your letter that home wasn't fun. Well, let me tell you that it isn't fun to be here either.

I have to keep it short, since I used my free period to do my homework for Transfiguration and am writing this during Charms.

I got into a fight with Ron last week, and in my anger (you've seen me when I'm so angry as to be beyond reason – this was such a case) I said that Hermione snogged Krum and some other stupid things that Ron wasn't supposed to know. Or he knew, but he wasn't supposed to get it rubbed into his face like that. He's now mad at everyone, but especially at Hermione, who didn't know what happened because I didn't tell her. 

However, she found out, or at least parts of it, and now she's also mad at me. 

Ugh… I miss you, Eve. Your logic could make things seem so simple. Do you think you could bottle it, and send it in a flask with the next letter? 

Anyway, the homework's attached to the letter. I promise that you will get a more detailed letter from me this evening, but for now, this just had to be said, and out of my system. 

Love, 

Ginny

"You stupid girl! Can't you see you're supposed to train me? How is that sort of aim supposed to help?"

Ginny flinched at her brother's voice. That was the fifth time Ron had shouted at Demelza, who now was trembling on her broom. She gritted her teeth, and glanced at Harry, who frowned, but didn't say anything to his friend. She wanted to intervene more than anything, but she knew that Harry wouldn't appreciate that. Besides, she had caused this mood with her brother: there was a great chance they would only end up yelling more.

They started their new formation. She passed the Quaffle to Dean, who gained speed. He passed it back to her, and she handed it off to Demelza at the final second, and the other girl scored again.

"Are you deaf? What did I just tell you about aiming the Quaffle from that direction? How am I supposed to train like that if you're so stupid? Huh?"

Ginny shook her head and looked at Harry, who was following the conversation from up above. Even though her greatest desire was to interfere, Ginny knew it wouldn't be a good idea. She turned her broom and sped off to Dean, who had retrieved the Quaffle and was throwing it toward her.

"You shut up and leave her alone!" she heard Peakes shout. Turning around again, she saw that the little Beater was now flying up to the goalposts, where Ron still was shouting at Demelza, whose face was tear-stained.

That was enough. Glaring at Ron, she passed the Quaffle to Dean and shot off towards the goalposts. However –

"ENOUGH!" bellowed Harry, "Peakes, go and pack up the Bludgers. Demelza, pull yourself together, you played really well today, Ron…" She could tell that Harry was finally saying something to Ron about his behaviour and turned around to land a bit further away from the Boy-Who-Lived and the Prat-Called-Her-Brother.

Instead she walked to the locker rooms, where Demelza was sniffling.

"Demelza, I'm sorry," she blurted out.

"For what?"

"For the fact that Ron's only mad at everyone because we had a fight last week. But don't listen to what he says. It's not your fault: at the game tomorrow, he won't have any control over the other side to save those goals. You were right to fly like that."

Demelza nodded.

"Coming with me to dinner, Ginny?" Dean asked from the door. She nodded and followed. Even last year, when they had had the worst team ever, she had never felt so sure they were going to lose a match.

After dinner, she hastened up to her dormitory, pulled out another piece of parchment and some ink and started to write again. There was a lot that she needed to get out of her system… yet again.

Dear Evelyn, 

* * *

_I hate this chapter because:_

_a.) It hasn't been checked by my editor._

_b.) it does nothing but dwell on that stupid fight. _

_c.) Ginny is indecicive, while she usually isn't. _

_However, I felt that I still couldn't leave it out, since this is the last training before the infamous Quidditch match, and I needed to tell about an encounter between Hermione and Ginny, so that you readers know that Hermione wasn't very fond of Ginny at the moment..._

_Anyway, the gramar-checked version of this chapter will come soon and maybe I can mak it also better on the other points with the help of your reviews..._

_x-mokimik-x_

_19/07/2008: updated_


	39. About accusing and upsetting

_Another study-related disclaimer: JK Rowling would probably never have to learn about Keynes and his economic influence after 1945..._

**39. (about accusing and storming) **

- Strong reasons make strong actions.-

_William Shakespeare_

She had a hard time getting out of bed that morning, and already felt tired by the time she had finished dressing herself. She didn't feel like facing people at all today. She and Ginny were still angry at each other, Ron was still in his foul mood, Harry seemed happiest when he could stay out of the mess, and Lavender had stopped "giving Ron time" and started to act flirty again.

"How are you both feeling?" she asked tentatively when she entered the great hall and met both Harry and Ron

"Fine," said Harry. Hermione looked at him. There was something in his voice sounded that sounded a bit too much like Fred and George. She saw him fumble with something – a little bottle – above a glass, and then give it to Ron. "There you go, Ron. Drink up."

Immediately the alarm bells in her head went off. What was Harry doing? He had clearly put something in Ron's drink!

"Don't drink that, Ron!"

Both Harry and Ron looked up at her, Harry with his eyes wide, and Ron with the same frown he had had all week.

"Why not?" said Ron.

She looked at Harry, not believing what she'd seen. Was he trying to poison Ron, so they could play with the reserve Keeper? Or was it something to make Ron play better? Was it perhaps… but Harry wouldn't do that! But if not…

"You just put something in that drink."

"Excuse me?" said Harry.

"You heard me. I saw you. You just tipped something into Ron's drink. You've got the bottle in your hand right now!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Harry, his hands suspiciously close to his pockets. Ron looked from one to the other.

"Ron, I warn you, don't drink it!" Hermione said again, panicking. Harry was obviously not playing by the rules. He had heard Slughorn that day in the dungeon! It was forbidden to use Felix Felicis in sporting events! This didn't sound like Harry at all!

However, Ron picked up the glass, drained it all, and said, "Stop bossing me around, Hermione."

It felt as if someone had slapped her right across the face. Even when she was saying something to protect his health (who knew what could go wrong?), he didn't want her help. Bending close to Harry's ear, she hissed, "You should be expelled for that. I'd never have believed it of you, Harry!"

"Look who's talking," he whispered back. "Confunded anyone lately?"

That was low, but she really couldn't answer him without making a scene. All she could do was storm away up the table.

Hermione briefly considered not watching the match, since she was now angry at all three of her Quidditch-playing friends, but curiosity had stopped her. Besides, if she didn't see the game herself, she could never be one-hundred percent sure that Harry had used the lucky potion.

And after what had to have been one of the shortest matches she'd ever seen, Hermione had no doubt about the Felix Felicis. The only question remaining was how to confront Harry about it. Determinedly, she walked up to the changing room and Dean, Ginny and Demelza opened the door, all three happily shouting a chorus of "Weasley is Our King", with Ginny conducting.

They barely noticed her, but even if they had, Hermione wasn't here for them. She would make things right with Ginny later; Harry and Ron needed to be confronted first. Twisting her scarf in her hands, she walked in and stared at the only remaining players.

"I want a word with you, Harry." She looked up and took a deep breath. "You shouldn't have done it. You heard Slughorn, it's illegal."

What are you going to do, turn us in?" demanded Ron. He didn't seem so angry anymore, but still sounded a bit harsh. Apparently, he had also realised that he just couldn't have made that fourth save without help from whatever he'd had that morning.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Harry, turning away to hang up his robes. Hermione felt the irritation creeping up. Was he still trying to play dumb?

"You know perfectly well what we're talking about!" she replied shrilly. "You spiked

Ron's juice with lucky potion at breakfast! Felix Felicis!"

"No, I didn't," said Harry, turning back to face them both, grinning widely. Hermione stared at him bewildered.

"Yes you did, Harry, and that's why everything went right, there were Slytherin players missing and Ron saved everything!"

"I didn't put it in!" said Harry, grinning even more. He slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and drew out the tiny bottle that Hermione had seen in his hand that morning. It was still full of golden potion and the cork was tightly sealed with wax. "I wanted Ron to think I'd done it, so I faked it when I knew you were looking."

She didn't know which emotion she felt more: anger for fooling her, or relief for not cheating.

You saved everything because you felt lucky. You did it all yourself," Harry said, turning to Ron.

"There really wasn't anything in my pumpkin juice?" Ron said, astounded. "But the weather's good… and Vaisey couldn't play… I honestly haven't been given lucky potion?"

Harry shook his head. Ron gaped at him for a moment, and in that moment, Hermione felt a little bit of hope creeping up in her heart. Maybe, Ron would just be her friend after this. Maybe he would forget whatever Ginny had said to him in the happiness for winning the game… but that hope didn't last for long.

Ron rounded on Hermione, imitating her voice, "You added Felix Felicis to Ron's juice this morning, that's why he saved everything! See! I can save goals without help, Hermione!"

"I never said you couldn't - Ron, you thought you'd been given it too!" she tried to explain to him, trying very hard not to cry.

But Ron had already stridden past her out of the door with his broomstick over his shoulder.

"Er," said Harry into the sudden silence, "Shall…shall we go up to the party, then?" But Hermione shook her head. She wasn't completely sure how she felt towards Harry at this moment, but knew that seeing Ron celebrating all the goals he'd saved would be too much. Frustration and tiredness seemed to flow over her and she exclaimed: "You go! I'm sick of Ron at the moment, I don't know what I'm supposed to have done…"

And she stormed out of the changing room.

_A word from my editor, copied from an e-mail:_

_"And you can stick a bit from me in your A/N regarding my humble and delayed apologies about being... well, stupid. Yes?"_

_What she means is that she's still swamped in work from college (as am I) and that she forgot to edit. But just as with the last 2 chapters, we will go back to change the typo's and grammar-mistakes..._

_As for the chapters themselves: I know that the story's kind of slow and not always fun to read atm, but it's just part of the bigger picture. It needs to be told._

_Let me know if you don't agree, do agree, or want to make another random point about the story!_

_x-mokimik-x_

_19/07/2008: updated  
_


	40. About breaking and collapsing

_If I was JK, my bank-account probably wouldn't cry atm..._

**40. (about thinking and daring)**

"If they can't get close enough to hurt you, they can't get close enough to love you."

_Anonymous_

All the emotions she had felt that week, all the anger, and bewilderment, came out in the form of tears. She ran away from the locker rooms, away from the sounds of cheering Gryffindor supporters and away from all the students, heading the Lake. Her head felt like a confusing mass of questions. What was wrong with Ron? What could Ginny have said that was causing him to act so cold and distant to her? Why did Harry have to act like Ron was being lucky? Couldn't he have told her of the plan? She wasn't sure if she would have helped him if she knew, and that had probably been the reason he hadn't told her. But that didn't explain why Ron had gotten angry at her, instead of his best friend, who had made him feel as if he had drank Felix Felicis. She didn't know where she was heading, but her feet seemed to travel around the lake immediately. Walking around it would be a good idea: she would have time to clear her head.

She hated herself for still liking him. She knew that this wasn't the real Ron, the one she had liked for more than two years. The one who could make her laugh and forget her worries for a moment, and the one that could be brilliant in his own way. Why couldn't she stop liking him? Couldn't she teach her heart to fall in love with a person that was nice? Or sane, perhaps? She walked further, kicking a stone out of her path. There had been a guy who had been both, and yet… Viktor had been more then willing to play her boyfriend, and for a short month, Hermione had thought she had wanted him too. He had been so sweet to her. Yet she was bored with him the minute the Yule Ball was over. Instead of a long goodbye, he was dragged along by Karkaroff and after that, she was standing in the common room, fighting with Ron.

She walked further. Nothing had really changed: Viktor was still being dragged of to the next Quidditch match and even though she knew she had the power to stop him, she didn't bother to try. She was too busy bickering with Ron, or, in this case, with trying to find out why they were fighting at the moment.

Ron probably didn't have a clue about how she felt. She had come to realise that she had been reading too much into the moment they had had in the train at the beginning of this year: he had probably wanted to take her out as friends. And knowing how Ron was, he probably hadn't got her subtle clues of asking him out to Slughorn's party. Or maybe he had, but his skull was too thick for it actually to sink in. She grabbed a stone and hurled it into the water, where it sank with a "plop". She would have to tell him everything, without room for misunderstanding. It would finally make an end to her insecurity. But how could she tell him when he was giving her the cold shoulder the whole time?

"Hullo there!" Hermione looked up and saw Hagrid coming out of his cabin. "Oh, it's you!"

"Hi, Hagrid."

"Hullo, Hermione. Why're yeh here? Aren't yeh supposed to be celebrating back a' the school? I hear McGonnagall's too happy wi' the first match to actually punish yeh lot for makin' too much noise!"

"Oh, yes, I'm making my way over there. I just needed to think…"

"Oh? Abou' what?"

"Everything," she answered vaguely.

"Yeh mean the war?"

She felt rather guilty. Here she was, crying over a boy, while the whole world had far greater problems. She nodded a bit and Hagrid seemed to take that as a 'yes'.

"Hmm… well, there's not much I can tell yeh to make yeh feel better. But just be brave and wait for the outcome, Hermione – some day, it has to be over."

She looked up, and saw that the huge man was standing in front of her and looking worried.

"Yes… I think you're right. I… just have to be… brave and wait…"

A silence fell and she felt that Hagrid was still eyeing her worriedly.

"I'd better go. Suppose the party has already started…"

"Yeah, you do that. And come around when you feel yeh need a cuppa, all righ'?"

"I shall. Bye, Hagrid."

She nodded and walked towards the castle, slowly digesting what Hagrid had just said… she just had to be brave and wait for the outcome….

So she did. Hermione started to speed up her walk. She had made up her mind when she almost ran up to the front steps of the castle. Ron would probably be in high sprits, even if not towards her. She just had to make him listen to her. She would confront him, ask if they could talk in private for a minute and tell him that… well, tell him. She would make no secret of the fact that she was disappointed and bewildered and confused about this past week, and would demand an answer from him, right that instant. And then all she could do was wait for it. If he didn't like her the same way, she swore that she would try to forget him, to get over him. And if he did… Her heart fluttered. If he did, they would see from there.

She suddenly felt like a real Gryffindor. For once, she felt as brave as Harry, she felt as courageous as Ginny and as tall as Hagrid. If she wanted to solve this problem, she had to do it herself. And Hagrid had made her realise that there were far more important things. She and Ron had to be strong as a team, united for Harry and his destiny. His job wouldn't get any easier and she had a feeling Dumbledore was slowly preparing him. They had to stand by his side together.

She mounted the stairs, feeling more and more determined. She refused to listen to that scared little voice in her head, and pushed it away. She didn't need that voice now – she didn't need her brains at all. All she needed was her heart and her courage to do this.

The Fat Lady slowly opened, revealing the usual chaos and cheery crowd after a game that had been won. Music, voices and screams were waving over her. She stepped inside, standing still against the inside of the portrait hole to search the room for her friends. There was Dean, talking to Seamus about a move he had made. There was Parvati, her face painted with gold and red stripes. Harry was standing near the drinks, talking with Ginny. They glanced at a corner, both looking disgusted. What were they looking at? It was hard to see: the room was crowded and the corner was dark. She followed their gaze, crained her neck and her heart stood still.

It was clear that Ron had made his choice, even before she had wanted to ask him for an answer.

_yes... that must suck...this is the start of the part in HBP what I like to call "The Depressive period" for Hermione, and which will end at the Birthday of Ron... basically, that means that Hermione is sad for 6 months... :O Lucky for her (and for you readers) There's more happening in her life then Ron, and we also have another major character to focus on ;)_

_Thanks for everyone who supported my finals! They're over! _

_I hope you liked it, and keep reading! If you didn't enjoy, found a typo, a major plotmistake or like to leave something positive, be my guest and click on the reviews-button..._

_x-mokimik-x_

_19/7/2008: updated_


	41. About attacking and collapsing

_If I was JK Rowling, I wouldn't have heard just now that I won't have to retake any of my classes next year and passsed with flying colours this year!_

**41. (about breaking and collapsing) **

"Where there is love there is pain"

_Spanish proverb_

Hermione unlocked the first classroom she saw. She felt weird. Crying seemed cliché and she had done too much of that today. Her mind screamed about unjust and stupid boys and how she deserved better, but her heart felt just numb, not willing to let the pain, the realisation, in. She needed to focus on something else. Something that would not make her throw things, or scream, or bite or make her violent in any other sort of way. She drew her wand out of her pocket and started to wave it listless in the air. Focusing on a spell McGonnagall had taught them last week might distract her. Wondering if she could still master it non-verbal, she concentrated hard, pushing all the feelings out of her head and making it feel blank, as an unwritten piece of paper.

_Avis_

And with a blast, a yellow bird sprung out of nowhere, and twittered happily, not knowing what it was to be treated unfair.

_Avis_

_Avis_

_Avis_

_Avis_

Four more birds were created, each with the sound of a gun, until-

"Hermione?" she looked up and saw that Harry was standing in the door opening.

"Oh, hello, Harry," she heard herself say in a voice that wasn't entirely her own, "I was just practicing."

"Yeah . . . they're – er - really good..." he replied rather lamely and entered the classroom. A silence fell between them, and Hermione felt the pressure of saying something. She knew that Harry was here to talk to her. But she really didn't want to talk about what she had just seen. She had only seen it, not thought about what she had seen. But she knew that once she would think, she would break.

But it seemed as if Harry was lost for words too. The pounding in her head and the ache in her heart were both growing to a maximum and she knew that she would explode sooner or later.

Better sooner, that way she wouldn't lose it completely.

"Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations." Hermione hated the fact that her voice still didn't sound like her own.

"Er . . . does he?" said Harry.

"Don't pretend you didn't see him. He wasn't exactly hiding it, was -?"

But before she could get really irritated with Harry for being a hypocrite, the door burst open again. And in came the two people she really didn't want to see. Ever. Again.

"Oh," Ron said, drawing up short at the sight of Hermione and Harry. Hermione had turned her head the minute she understood who had entered. She really couldn't look at him right now.

"Oops!" said Lavender, and she backed out of the room, giggling. The door swung shut behind her. Hermione felt that her body was creating two dams; one to stop the stream of thoughts and one to stop the stream of emotions that seemed to fill her up. The moment the door had closed behind Lavender, the dam of her thoughts broke. She stared at Ron, who didn't look back. There was a horrible, swelling, billowing silence, while her thoughts were swirling like a rollercoaster. Was he really liking the girl that had just giggled at such awkwardness? Had he liked her at all, these past few months, or had that all been in her head? Did she have to be more like Lavender for Ron to like her?

Ron still refused to look back and instead looked at Harry, who seemed to have a contest with Ron about whom was feeling more uncomfortable. But really, did Ron have to be uncomfortable? After all, wasn't he the great winner? He had just scored himself a girl.

Sarcasm had found his way through the emotion-dam. The yellow birds she had just conjured still twittered happily around her head.

"Hi, Harry! Wondered where you'd got to!" Ron finally said.

Hermione slid off the desk. She knew that the second dam wouldn't hold much longer and she felt to proud to break down in front of Ron, to let him know how much he had hurt her.

"You shouldn't leave Lavender waiting outside," she said quietly in the same, un-Hermione-like voice. "She'll wonder where you've gone."

He looked up for one second, with an odd mixture of feelings on his face. Surprise, pride, cockiness, relief….

She broke the eye-contact and walked towards the door. She knew that Lavender would be waiting at the other side, with a smug look on her face. She would have won. She would have Ron all for herself.

The emotion-dam broke.

_"Oppugno!" _

Without even realising which spell she had done, she fled towards the door. The birds had sped up like bullets towards Ron, who was shouting and yelping, but she didn't care anymore. Or actually, she cared too much. Tears welled up again, and she could barely see Lavender staring at her in shock and peering inside when Hermione fled out of the classroom.

The tears were no longer in the corners of her eyes, and suddenly on her cheeks and clothes.

"Hermione!" In the distance, she heard a girl calling her name, but a second later, she could have imagined it. Her feet didn't seem to know were they were going but both agreed about one thing: as long as they were going in the opposite direction of where they had just came from, it was okay.

The library doors burst open. Hermione didn't even saw madam Pince's disapproving glance for running in the library, and walked straight to the darkest corner of the library, where the books were the oldest and the shelves the highest.

There, against the wall she collapsed, grabbing her own knees and sobbing uncontrollably.

* * *

_aawh... :-( sad chappie_

_I know I haven't updated in a few weeks, but I'm very busy atm... with celebrating my holiday... :D You guys can expect some updates in the following weeks, but I won't garantee a update every week..._

_This wasn't edited (it will be, in a couple of days) so I hope you guys didn't got annoyed with the grammar. _

_next up: A Ginny-chapter, about how exactly they removed the birds from Ron...:-)_

_leave a review if you feel like it!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	42. About witnessing and hearing

_If I were JK Rowling, my vacation would be more expensive than 3 days of Disneyland Paris. _

**42. (about witnessing and hearing)**

"To witness two lovers is a spectacle for the gods."

_Anonymous_

"Hey Ginny!" Dean came towards her after Harry left the common room quite suddenly. He kissed her passionately on her mouth, but Ginny broke apart before it could get more intense. Right now, she had no desire to look like her brother, who was standing in the other corner and had now also broken away.

"What's the matter?" Dean asked, surprised that she wasn't as happy to see him as he was to see her.

"That," she said, not hiding her distaste and nodding towards her brother. Dean followed her gaze.

"So, Ron and Lavender," he shrugged. "What's wrong with that? He'll have less time to look after his little sister this way," he joked, but Ginny didn't see the humour in his comment.

"It's the wrong one."

"What?" Dean asked, as Ron and Lavender disappeared out of the common room.

"It's the wrong one, the wrong girlfriend."

"The wrong girlfriend? I thought Ron was the only Weasley who had a problem with the people his siblings dated. You too?"

"No!" she glared at him. Dean looked as if he had no idea why he was wearing on her nerves so much.

"You know what? I have to go check something," she suddenly decided. "I'll be back in a sec."

"Okay," he answered, unsure, but Ginny barely heard him. She walked out of the portrait hole and looked around. Lavender was standing a bit further down the corridor, next to the closed door of a classroom. She looked satisfied, but also a little bit flushed. When Ginny walked up to ask her where Ron had suddenly disappeared to (Lavender would probably know, seeing as they had been glued together mere minutes ago), there was a shout from the classroom. Another shriek followed, this one by someone else. Before Ginny could ask Lavender anything about this highly confusing situation, the door had burst open. Hermione stormed out, tears streaming over her face as she ran down the corridor.

"Hermione!" Ginny shouted, but the girl didn't seem to hear her. She ran around a corner, but before Ginny could walk up to her, her attention was brought back to the classroom again. The door had banged open with such a force that it had rebounded against the castle wall and slammed closed again, but shouts were still audible through the wood and Lavender opened it again. Ginny couldn't see from her point what was happening inside, but when Lavender shrieked and hurried inwards, Ginny followed.

She didn't know what she was expecting, but certainly not this. Her brother was standing in the middle of the room being attacked by a flock of canaries. Harry was standing to the side, his wand drawn, but not reacting, as if waiting for something. Lavender, though, was doing the opposite, and was 'helping' Ron. She shooed the birds away, but it didn't seem to have any effect. The birds didn't harm her when she approached Ron, but she couldn't keep them away from him either and they only seemed to get more violent. Ginny had a shrewd idea of what had happened. She walked over to Harry, who looked up, but at the same time motioned his wand to make the birds disappear. He pointed them at one of the birds and muttering a disappearing spell, a bit of blue light caught the bird in mid-air. Only two little feathers glided to the ground.

She grinned at him, but he barely smiled back.

"Come on, help me with the rest of those things," he said. Lavender was still shrieking.

"Did Hermione do that?"

Harry nodded.

"I'm sorry, but in that case, I think Ron deserved them. Let him deal with those birds by himself." She sat down on one of the chairs determinedly, and saw that Harry was hesitating over whether help his friend immediately or sit it out. He chose the former, and moved closer to Ron and Lavender, whom were both yelling.

_Poof, poof, poof, poof_. A few more feathers fell to the floor, and calmness spread over the scene. Ginny looked at her brother, and had some difficulty trying to hide a smile. Hermione's spellwork had been superb. His whole face was scratched and blood oozed out of every little scratch. His arms and hands were also covered in little wounds, and while Lavender was still walking around him like a puppy, she could see that he was even limping a bit.

"I'm sorry Ron, I can't heal these. You'll have to see Madam Pompfrey," she heard Harry say.

"Well, come on then," Ron said and walked to the door, helped by Lavender. Her brother screwed up his face. Finally a wave of pity flooded over Ginny, and she took his other arm so he could also lean on her. Harry closed the door behind them.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked, only now realising his little sister was there. Even though she had forgotten they were actually fighting, Ron hadn't.

"Oh, stuff it. I'm trying to help you. What happened?"

But Ron wasn't the one who answered.

"Ron and I were looking for somewhere to go, so we came in here, but Harry and Hermione were here already. So I left, because we wanted some privacy, but Ron didn't follow quickly enough to avoid being cursed by that horrible girl!" Lavender babbled. "I can't believe she did that!"

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing several minutes later, Lavender was still complaining about how terrible Hermione was. But far more annoying to Ginny was that Lavender was sill flirting with her brother. The fact that his face was now covered in blood only seemed to attract her more.

"You guys go on," Ginny decided. "I need to ask Harry something," she quickly made up, and grabbed his arm to preventing him from going inside. The hospitaldoor closed, and Harry seemed a bit flustered.

"What really happened?" she asked again, now hoping for a more realistic and detailed answer. He shrugged.

"Hermione saw Ron and Lavender kissing in the common room and...well, she didn't take it too well. When I searched for her, she had already conjured up some birds, and when Ron came, she let them attack him. You walked in after that. Thanks for helping me, by the way,' he added sarcastically. Ginny frowned.

"Ron deserved that. He has been treating Hermione like dirt ever since I let it slip that she kissed Krum. He knew exactly what she felt for him," she muttered. Harry looked uncomfortable at the mention of Hermione's feelings, so Ginny changed the subject.

"Where did she go?"

"No idea. Why?"

Ginny sighed. Boys could be so dense sometimes. Even the Ones Who Lived.

"Because Ron's not the one who needs help at the moment. And he's got Lavender and Madam Pompfrey for that."

And with that, she turned around and left Harry standing in front of the door. She needed to find Hermione.

--

_yes, I am still alive! And yes, so is this story. I'm sorry I haven't been updating sooner, but what's the saying in English again? Pining makes the heart grow (or something like that. _

_I hope you like the chapter...it was hard for me to figure out how Harry reacted and felt about this all, since it wasn't explained in the books and he kind of decides later that he doesn't want to pick a side. _

_Leave a review with your comment, questions, opinions, demands or all of the previous mentioned and I promise that I'll reply sooner than the last time (That's not very difficult)_

_x-mokimik-x_


	43. About reaching and rowing

_If I were JK, I would have already seen the trailer of Harry potter and the Half-Blood Prince long before it came out, instead of checking every day on the leaky cauldron._

**43. (about contacting and rowing)**

"A loving relationship is one in which the loved one is free to be himself -- to laugh with me, but never at me; to cry with me, but never because of me; to love life, to love himself, to love being loved. Such a relationship is based upon freedom and can never grow in a jealous heart."

_Leo F. Buscaglia_

Ginny didn't find Hermione after the bird-incident. In fact, she wouldn't find Hermione until the Monday after the match, and even then the other girl refused to talk about what had happened. She seemed to have forgiven Ginny for telling Ron something that had made him so upset, since she was talking normally to her, but when Ginny tried to talk about Ron himself, she quickly changed the subject. Even fled from it.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ginny, Herbology starts in about ten minutes, and I still have to grab my books from my dorm. We'll talk later, okay?" Ginny nodded, clearly understanding the message.

Ron still bore scratches and cuts from Hermione's attack. Ginny overheard Lavender telling Parvati that the wounds were magical, since the birds had been too. The scratches couldn't be healed by magic, only naturally.

Ron and Lavender were now officially a couple and Ginny actually felt a bit sorry for Harry. The only way the new couple could be more attached was to be physically joined at the hip. She told Harry so during the next practise, but he only had grinned back vaguely.

Ginny refused to speak to Ron directly, even though it had seemed they were okay right after the attack. She knew he didn't feel sorry at all for being with Lavender, and Ginny decided that she would rather be a good friend to Hermione than chummy with Ron, who seemed to have Lavender for that.

If only Hermione wanted to be good friends with her. The weeks slowly passed, but it seemed that she was avoiding Ginny. She saw less and less of Hermione in the common room, and when Ginny finally got close enough to say something, the speed with which Hermione managed to get away was rather depressing.

Dean didn't seem to understand what the problem was, which only served to irritate her more. She tried to explain it, but he still didn't seem to get it.

"Were Hermione and Ron going out? I never noticed anything of that!"

"No, they weren't…"

"So? What's the problem?"

"You couldn't _tell_?" Dean just looked at her, totally befuddled. Ginny sighed. "Don't you get sick of Ron and Lavender?"

"No, why should I? Ron seems to be happy, and as long as he is, our team is playing great. You and Ron aren't on the best of terms, but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it as long as he's with her. Which means, he's also not bothered by the fact that I'm your boyfriend, which allows me to sleep a lot better at night, when I'm in the same room as he is."

"Aargh! Don't you get it? Hermione's miserable because of him! Of course I'm not okay with him if he's causing that!"

"But it's Hermione's own fault! If she wanted him, she should have said something."

Dean was being far too logical. She shook her head furiously. Why couldn't he understand how Hermione felt? After the last statement, Ginny didn't speak to him for two days.

Finally, he had apologized (though Ginny wasn't sure if it was because he thought she was right or had just missed her).

She didn't know what to do with Dean lately. He was sometimes so overprotective, so suffocating…. If she wanted to be cared for in that way, she had four brothers for that (Percy didn't count and Ron was too busy). When she had let it slip that Neville had taken her to the Yule Ball two years ago, Dean suddenly popped up the next day when was talking to Neville about her Herbology homework and if he could help her.

"Hey Neville," he said, throwing an arm around Ginny. Something in the way he said it irritated Ginny immensely.

"Hi Dean."

"What are you doing here in the library?"

"Oh, looking up that charm Flitwick mentioned in the last class. And then I walked in to Ginny, who said she needed help with Herbology."

"Really? Well, that's a coincidence!" he said in a strained voice and glanced at Ginny who refused to look at him. He had clearly been planning this.

"Why?" Neville asked, a bit confused.

"Well, I have to do my homework for Herbology, so while I'm working on that, I can also explain it to her."

"Oh, okay," Neville answered, giving Ginny's book over to Dean.

The fight that followed had been their biggest one yet.

"Why are you always asking for help from him?"

"Because he's good in Herbology!"

"Well, so am I! I'm a year more experienced and I think I can handle explaining it to you!"

"So? Just because you are my boyfriend doesn't mean that I can't get help from other boys!"

"No, it doesn't, but it does when you are doing the same things during studying as you do with me!"

"Then there's your reason why I didn't ask for your help! We always end up kissing and I've failed every essay I tried to write with yiou!" she hissed back. (They were still in the library, not the best place to fight.)

"Well, then you can use the essays I gave you from last year! You don't have to ask for help from Neville!"

"Those things don't work!"

"What do you mean?"

Her big mouth had taken over again. She hissed back: "They don't work! The professors give different assignments every year! Your essays are useless, but even if they weren't, I wouldn't cheat with them, since some are absolutely awful!"

Looking back, Ginny realised that even a physical slap to the face wouldn't have made Dean look so affronted.

"And why haven't you told me that? Or did you think I was just as stupid as my essays and wouldn't understand it?"

Ginny couldn't come up with a quick answer, but even if she'd wanted to reply, Madam Pince chose that moment to interrupt, glaring at both of them.

Without even looking at Ginny, Dean stormed off.

The day after that, she had apologized, and he too, though they were both touchy and a bit cold to each other. Ginny realised that it would take a while for them to be normal again and really forgive and forget.

As Ginny stared at the pile of homework she had one gray November afternoon, she couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for things to be normal again. With Dean, with Ron and with Hermione….

--

almost half a week late with updating... sorry guys! I didn't have a computer with me when I worked the past few days...

Anyway, as always thanks to Lisa for editing and to all the reviews I got for the previous chapters...

next up: Hermione tries to cope, and schemes a plan...

but before I will update the next chapter you are welcome to leave a review with your thougts about this chappie

x-mokimik-x


	44. About denying and dining

_If I were JK. Rowling, I would be sophisticated enough not to bang my head against the table when I heard about the Half-Blood-Prince, movie delay. I would have enough power to make sure that the movie would get out on the original airdate... or at least enough power to watch it myself..._

**44. (about denying and dining)**

"Well, the tragedy is over. The failure is complete. I turn my head and go away. I took my share in this fight for the impossible."

_Albert Camus_

The days after the scene with the birds were weird. Hermione had, after spilling far too many tears over it, decided that Ron wasn't worth the trouble. She, a sensible, smart girl, deserved much better then him, and wasn't going to be affected by him any longer. During the day, this mask seemed to work pretty well, but at night, or when she was alone, she felt so tired of keeping up the act, and felt so unlike herself, that she often fell asleep crying.

Lavender hadn't spoken a word to her since she had attacked her new "boyfriend" with those birds, but maybe that was only because Hermione didn't give her a chance to say anything. She avoided Ron and Lavender as much as possible, because she knew the mask would fall off as soon as she saw them together, or imagined them together.

Instead of thinking about them, she just tried to focus her attention on other things, and luckily for her, there were plenty of those things.

She had started to tutor some of the younger students, mainly second and third years. They all seemed to benefit from it, and before Hermione knew it, her group contained five students. On the nights that the Quidditch team practised, she could be found in the library, explaining how to make a forgetfulness potion and how to defeat a boggart. Anna, James, David, Karen and Jeffrey all seemed to like her a lot. The lessons reminded Hermione a bit of the DA, and she wondered if she could give practical lessons too. For now though, her schedule was too full. She had to study a lot for herself, too.

The nights she studied with Harry were hard. She knew that she didn't have to keep up the mask for him: he saw through it right away. But she tried to maintain it anyway by talking a lot about how she didn't care about Lavender and Ron. She needed to make sure that he wouldn't be bothered by their fight, and would just focus on school and the lessons from Dumbledore. Harry mostly didn't reply to her comments about his best friend and remained quiet. Hermione had wondered after their last study night if it was hard for him to stay neutral. Maybe she should talk about other things instead. She promised herself to do so on the next night.

She refused to patrol with Ron. Two weeks after the fight, Ron had tried to talk about it with her.

"We have patrol duties tomorrow," he had said. She hadn't replied, because Ron had his arm slung over Lavender's shoulder and she refused to look at them.

"If you'll do them on Saturday's, I'll do them on Tuesdays."

She still hadn't said anything. It felt as if a hot burning poker was stuck through her chest. She only managed to nod, and then had walked quickly up to the girls' bathrooms at the other side of the corridor.

On the first Saturday she had to patrol again, she felt rather alone in the beginning of the evening, but grew quickly accustomed to the silence and her own footsteps. At least all her attention was now focused on patrolling, and not on the guy walking next to her. Besides, she didn't have to spend the whole evening watching the snog-fest in the common room. However, that was only true to a certain extent. The corridors had never been filled with so many couples trying to find some private space and if she ever had a boyfriend of her own, Hermione now knew all the passageways they could never end up in.

On her way back to the common room, she bumped into Professor Slughorn.

"Oho! If that isn't my top student Miss Granger!"

"Hello, Professor."

"What are you up to in the middle of the night? Nothing forbidden, I hope?"

"No, I had patrol duties, sir."

"Off course! You're a prefect; I hadn't expected any less of you! Are you looking forward to my Christmas party? I'm just on my way back from the owlery: a few of my foreign guests had problems booking a room in the Three Broomsticks around Christmas. They're from France and their English isn't very good. Are you bringing any guest with you, besides a ghost?"

"No, professor."

"What, such a charming young lady as you? And what about Harry Potter? Can't he come along with you?" If Hermione hadn't felt so terrible at the moment, she would have smiled at the comment.

"Harry and I are just friends, sir."

"Oh." For a moment, Slughorn looked taken aback, but he quickly found himself again and pursued the rather awkward subject.

"Well, I suppose a girl like you has a broader horizon then just one boy, don't you? Say, for instance, Cormac is also a nice young lad and his family is always very kind. Always letting me know about the insides of the Ministry and – goodness, is that the time already?" He looked at his pocket watch. "I'm sorry Miss Granger, but if you will excuse me? I have a rather touchy potion brewing in my chambers and if I don't add the spider heads and newt-tails at exactly the right time, I'm afraid that there won't be much left of my room." He hasted away. "I shall see you in my class on Monday!" with that, he rounded the corner.

The weeks slowly passed and nothing really changed. It still hurt Hermione more than she could admit to see Ron or Lavender, and she kept fleeing from Ginny like a deer from a hunter, afraid that she would collapse as soon as she spoke to the girl. The words of Slughorn echoed in her head the whole week. A ghost was quickly found: the old wizard in the library, who had drowned in his own ink was happy to oblige to her. But a boy made out of flesh and blood was a bit harder. Would she really look stupid at the party without a date? And if so, whom to ask? Besides Ron and Harry, there really weren't many guys Hermione hung out with. Dean was obviously out of the question and Seamus had something going on with Padma Patil, from Ravenclaw. And with Neville's experiences in Potions, Hermione was sure that he wouldn't like to spend more time with Slughorn than necessary.

It had crossed her mind that if she asked someone out Ron hated, she might be able to make him jealous. She considered Smith for a moment, but quickly discarded that idea. The problem was that Hermione agreed with Ron on his assessment of them: she didn't like them either. And most of them were Slytherins, who would probably just laugh her in her face if she asked.

Hermione really wished that she wasn't avoiding Ginny at the moment: she might have got some advice otherwise.

When she dressed for bed that next week, she heard Lavender speaking to Parvati.

"Do you know McLaggen, Vati? I was watching the Quidditch practise last night, and he was there too. Started talking about how he almost became Keeper this season. He was really rude. I told Ron all about him, and he became very touchy. Like he still had to prove that he was the rightful Keeper or something."

Hermione stopped listening. McLaggen… She could always just tell Ron that he did get that spot because of her spellwork. She was sure that it would deflate his ego. But then she also had to admit that she had caused that spellwork. That would put her in the same category as Harry with the fake Felix Felicis. She really couldn't do that.

But maybe there was another way to make Ron unhappy. And Cormac McLaggen had everything to do with that….

--

yeah, okay a bit of a filler chapter, but nonetheless important: We need to know that Hermione is seriously in denial...

Anyway, thanks to all the reviews (seriously guys, my mailbox was overloading with mail, which I like!) and my editor, Lisa...

next up: a girly-girl Hermione, and an angry Head of House...

comments, complaints (exept the ones about updating too slow), and other tid-bits can be left by clicking on that little button below;)


	45. About dating and patrolling

_When I was JK Rowling I would have used my millions of pounds to pull a mission impossible and steal the 6th movie from WB, so my loyal fans wouldn't have to wait any mnute longer..._

**45. (About dating and patrolling)**

"They can conquer who believe they can."

_Virgil_

"Hi Cormac," Hermione greeted the seventh year Gryffindor.

"Oh, hi. You're Hermione, right?"

It annoyed Hermione immensely that the guy barely knew her name after all those Slug-club evenings, but she kept smiling.

"Yes. Listen, I was wondering if you already have a date for the Christmas party from Slughorn."

Hermione wished that the guy didn't look so smug when the word "date" came up. She actually wished she never had started this conversation at all.

"Well, no. I mean, Caroline Gernin already asked me, but obviously I had to say no. She's not a Gryffindor. Not even a member of the Slug Club!" Cormac nearly shouted.

Was Hermione really sinking this low? The image of Ron and Lavender sprang into her head immediately. Yes, she really was. If this could make Ron feel a little bit of the pain she felt every day, she would definitely do it.

"I heard from old Sluggy yesterday that Gwenog Jones is coming again! Last time, she told me that she would like to see me fly, when I had told her about that Wronski Feint I did during the summer. It would be great to set a date with her on the party!"

"Hmm, yeah," she murmured back. But was Ron actually going to feel that pain? He obviously didn't like her as much as she liked him. Maybe he couldn't care less about whom she accompanied to the party.

On the other hand… no matter what had or hadn't happened between them, she and Ron had been friends. As a friend, it would at least bother him that she was going with a guy he absolutely despised…. And in that case, Cormac was really the best guy she could take, if she didn't want to end up with a Slytherin. No way was she going to go with Malfoy.

"So, I was wondering," she cut Cormac off in mid-sentence, which seemed to annoy him immensely, "maybe we should go together to the party. I mean, we're both Gryffindors, and in the Slug Club..."

"Of course I would like to go with you! Meet me in front of the Fat Lady at eight?"

It stung her that he immediately took over, but she didn't let him notice. Her fake smile tightly stayed plastered to her face.

"Sure! See you then!"

"Oh, yeah, before I forget, can you wear something blue that evening?"

She looked up, surprised by that strange question.

"Well, obviously you can't clash with my robes…"

She needed to remind herself at that moment that it would look ridiculous if she showed up at the Christmas party being escorted by a dead body. She would be doing Ron a favour if she killed him, and that was something she definitely didn't want to do.

"I'll see if I can find something suitable, Cormac," she replied in a dangerously sweet tone.

Cormac smiled back and turned around. "See you then!"

Hermione also turned around and walked up to the portrait hole, to start on her usual Saturday night patrol.

It was quiet in the corridors. Since Katie had been attacked, the ghosts had been asked to patrol too, but besides them, no one was still out of their rooms. When she walked back to the common room, she met her first living person since Cormac three hours ago. Or actually, two persons.

Ron and Cameron, the Head-Girl.

"Hi Hermione," Carmeron greeted her, sounding angry. "I just spoke to Ron here. Apparently, you don't find it necessary to patrol the corridors together?"

"Um…" For a moment, Hermione was speechless. She quickly glanced at Ron, who was trying to look everywhere but at her.

"Well, I do think it's necessary. Need I remind you that there's a war going on outside there walls? And that one of our fellow Gryffindors has been attacked? And that especially now, it's important for the students to feel safe and be safe?"

"No, of course we know that!"

"Well, one of the ways to secure them is making sure the corridors aren't crowded with Death Eaters. And guess what? That's your job!'

If the Wizarding world had some kind of army, Hermione was sure Cameron would have been an excellent sergeant.

"But we have been patrolling!" Ron said indignantly. "Just…"

"Which makes it a lot safer for the students, but a lot less safer for the sole prefect that's patrolling!"

This time, Ron didn't find anything to say back. Hermione got the sudden urge to hit Ron with something, so instead, she focused on Cameron. The girl, unfortunately, also focused on Hermione.

"Hermione, this was your last patrol alone. I don't care what your reasons were for patrolling individually, but it's ending tonight. When's your next patrol?"

"Tuesday," they both replied.

"Good. I expect to see the both of you patrolling the corridors and not one of you with his girlfriend in the common room-" she glanced at Ron, "or with her books in the library." The stern glance rested on Hermione, and she nodded. "I will inform Professor McGonagall once I notice again that you're not patrolling together. Oh, and Ron, to make up for this missed evening, I want you to patrol also on the last Friday before the holidays, with Ernie MacMillan from Hufflepuff. Goodnight." With that, Cameron opened the portrait hole and walked in. When the painting closed again, the Fat Lady eyed Ron and Hermione curiously.

"Did you tell her that we weren't patrolling together anymore?" Hermione blurted.

"No, of course not! As if I would like to spend extra time with the person who attacked me with birds!" He held up his arm to show the still visible scratches. Hermione couldn't help but feel a bit triumphant. Maybe sending another flock of birds would really help her get that nasty feeling off her chest.

An awkward silence followed. Ron glanced at the portrait hole. "So what do we do?" he asked after a while.

"I'm patrolling Tuesday. I'm not planning to disobey Cameron. Unlike you, I like being a prefect."

Ron flushed. "So that just means I'm forced to come too?"

"No, that's your own choice." And then, before she could stop herself, she added: "Just like Lavender was."

Before she could say anything else she might regret, or hear his reply, she walked up to the portrait hole, climbed through it, and went to her dormitory. By then, the tears were already rolling down her face. It had felt good to be so calm against Ron, but it had needed so much control, so much coldness.

It goes without saying that the patrol that Tuesday was a disaster. It was harder then she thought to not say anything to Ron for that long. They both did their best to avoid their eyes and even when they had caught a couple of fourth-years in the broom closet near the Great Hall, they handled it in almost complete silence. Hermione had opened the door, Ron had docked off some points and sent them to their common room and Hermione had closed the door again.

When she fell onto her bed that night, she was almost absolutely certain that asking Cormac out had been the right thing. But somehow, a small part of her mind couldn't be comforted with the fact that she would pay Ron back. That part didn't want revenge. That part wanted her friend back.

* * *

_Not much news going on in this chapter, but I hope you liked it nonetheless..._

_Thanks for the many reviews from last chapter-it almost takes me an hour to reply to all of them..._

_Next up: Ginny finally confronts Hermione...and we hear about a whole new problem that the bushy-brown-haired girl has to cope with..._

_leave a review and I'll be sure to reply!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	46. About cornering and dealing

_If I really was JK, I wouldn't be so proud at myself for succesfully rounding off my first year of college: I would be proud at myself for having written the Harry Potter-saga._

**46. (About cornering and dealing)**

"A memory lasts forever, Never does it die. True friends stay together and never said goodbye"

_unknown_

A few weeks before the Christmas holidays, Ginny finally cornered Hermione. Quite accidentally, but also rather logically when you thought about Hermione, Ginny bumped into her in the library.

"There you are! I haven't spoken to you in ages!"

"Oh, hi Ginny," Hermione looked up quickly, but turned her eyes back to the dusty old book lying in front of her. She didn't seem so thrilled to see Ginny.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. A bit stressed and looking forward to the Holidays."

Ginny glanced over Hermione. She seemed thinner, more brittle, especially with that enormous book in front of her. There were huge bags under her eyes and every few seconds she sniffed loudly through her nose. Ginny had never seen a person who needed a vacation more.

"Any special plans? You know that my mum asked you to come for the holidays…"

"Thanks, but no. I'm looking forward to see my parents again and spend some time with them. They wanted to ski, but I talked them out of it. I don't know how much danger they are in but best not to seek it." She dipped her quill in the inkbottle and wrote some notes on the parchment next to her.

"Did you tell them why you didn't want to ski?"

Hermione looked up.

"Of course not! They still don't know anything about the war and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Hermione!"

"What?" Hermione stared defensively at the youngest Weasely. "Do you want me to be taken out of Hogwarts too, just like Evelyn?"

"Of course not! But don't you think your parents deserve to know what danger you risk by being a Muggleborn and being friends with Harry Potter?"

Hermione sighed and looked even more tired than before, something Ginny wouldn't have thought possible.

"Yeah, okay, they actually do." Hermione scribbled some more, before she went on: "You know, I might be able to tell them. After all, I'm seventeen now, they don't have to approve anymore."

"That's not a good argument," the youngest Weasley replied stern in the same tone Hermione usually used against her. "Just because they don't have any legal authority over you anymore doesn't mean they won't worry, or just suddenly understand."

"Can we please drop this subject?"

"All right. I actually have a better one!" Madame Pince walked by, and Ginny lowered her voice. "What's the deal with you and Ron? I heard you're patrolling together again. Have you made up? And what was the fight about?"

Hermione turned a bit red. "Ron and I didn't have a fight."

"Then where did the canaries came from after the Quidditch match?" she replied quickly.

"We didn't fight about anything. We're just not as good friends as we used to be." Hermione refused to look at her, and Ginny leaned further over the table.

"Hermione, who are you fooling? This has obviously something to do with Lavend," Ginny hissed.

"No, it doesn't." Hermione closed the book with a "bang" and a cloud of dust appeared. "He's allowed to kiss anyone he likes."

"Yeah, but you wish it was you."

Ginny saw that she had hit a nerve. If you could call it that, since the whole subject was rather touchy. Hermione stood up, picked up the book and said icily, without looking directly at her:

"Look, Ginny, I really have a lot of homework to do before the term ends. So if you don't mind discussing this later, that would be great."

She turned around and walked away. Ginny stared at her, doubting whether she should just leave the whole thing alone.

The next morning, during breakfast, a school owl swooped to her. Eager to know what Evelyn had written, she opened the letter:

_Dear Ginny, _

_I'm glad to hear from you so regularly. I really thought that wouldn't be the case once I left, since your life's now full of interesting stuff and mine is… well… not. _

_It sounds as if Hermione isn't happy at all. But when she's avoiding you, wouldn't it be best to let her, at least for now? Who knows, maybe your brother will break up with Lavender soon enough, or Hermione might get used to it, or get over him. It's clear that she doesn't want to talk about it, so why then force her?_

_Here's everything fine. My mum is very glad that I'm home. Since rebuilding the house has to be done the Muggle way, because the insurance (I explained about that last year, remember?) won't pay if things are done by magic, our house is only half finished. _

_We're staying in the meantime with my gran, some twenty miles away _

_from our home. Last week, my family agreed that it would be good for me to go to the Muggle school nearby. And since no one actually listens to me and my protests, I now go five days a week to Smelthing's Girls department school. It's attached to the boy's school, nearby. The girls are all quite polite to me, but I suspect they are gossiping like hell behind my back. Ah well. The classes are harder than I thought they would be. Muggle children of our age have much more knowledge in French, Maths and other Muggle things I haven't had since I turned eleven. _

_In the meantime, I also have to keep up with my Hogwarts work. I miss doing the actual spells, though. I mean, reading the theory isn't that much fun when you can't perform the actual spell. _

_I can tell that the world out there is at war. Muggles don't quite notice it, but they're all touchier, and when a girl started to cry in school yesterday during an exam, I could have sworn I saw a Dementor outside the window. _

_I miss my own world. The Muggles are all really nice, but they just don't understand me. Even my mum doesn't anymore. I don't think that there'll be any chance of going back to Hogwarts soon: she's getting more frightened by the day. _

_Anyway, the rest is my homework for this week. I hope I did well. Send my regards to all of the teachers, and I hope to hear from you soon. _

_Love, Evelyn. _

_PS: Remember that you mentioned to Fred and George that I was taken from school? Well, they sent me a package of Wheezes and asked me to test them. All practical jokes of course; my brother loves them! Furthermore, some daydream potions. I really loved the purple one! Let them know that I really loved the stuff and if they need any more testing, I'll be available!_

_ah... denial seems to be Hermione's best friend for now..._

_next up: some familliar scenes from the books between Hermione and Harry._

_BTW, I just realised this week that almost half of this story is already online! Which totally allows me to ask a few questions to my dear readers (yes, that means you!): _

_1.) What do you like especially about this story?_

_2.) Is there something you don't like? (Other than the slow update, I'm talking story-tellingwise)_

_3.) Which Character(s) is/are according to you, not true to the books?_

_4.) who/what would you like to see more?_

_As always thanks to my beta-er and all the reviews I've been getting lately! :D_

_If you have some time, and feel like it, please discuss the questions in your review! Though 'normal' reviews are still just as welcome!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	47. About scheming and discussing

_If I was JK Rowling, I probably wouldn't be glad that my college just started..._

**47. (About scheming and discussing)**

"Love is when you're kept up all night thinking of him, and then when you fall asleep, you find him in your dreams."

_Unknown_

"Oh, I definitely want to use this one," she heard a girl say. She looked up, and saw that it was Romilda Vane, with a few of her cronies. They were bent over a catalogue.

"But don't you think it's dangerous if you mix them into his drinks?"

"No, it says here: "_This love potion works for up to twenty-four hours at a time depending on the weight of the boy in question and the attractiveness of the girl. All one has to do is mingle the entire contents of this vial into anything the boy will consume. Success guaranteed_."

All the girls started to giggle, and Hermione rushed over to the sink, washing her hands, while looking in the direction of the girls. As soon she spotted one vial or bottle of potion, she would be sure to confiscate it. But as long as she didn't have any proof….

"I think I'm getting one of those too! It's a fair competition, Romilda, isn't it?" Romilda nodded absentmindly, still reading the instruction-parchment.

"Does anyone know how much Harry weighs?" a girl with gold-blonde hair wondered. Hermione rolled her eyes. She should have known this was about Harry. After all, this was Romilda Vane and her friends.

"No, but he's average. I think it will work long enough. Most of the Wheezes are really good stuff."

She scowled at the name. If the twins knew they were making Harry's life harder… The girls were reading the rest of the caption, but a vial, bottle or whatsoever remained invisible. The bell rang again, and they quickly left. When they walked past Hermione, she saw how Romilda smirked her evil smile. Hermione ignored her, but this made her almost sure that they didn't have the potion with them. If they had, they wouldn't be so cocky, would they? Hermione dried her hands on a towel and hurried off to the library.

--

"I really couldn't care less," Hermione ended. She raised her quill and dotted an 'i'. Harry didn't reply (as usual) and only looked more closely at his Potions book. Not sure how to cope with the silence coming from her friend, and feeling a bit ashamed that she couldn't stop talking about Ron, she bowed over her own Potions book, putting her now finished Arithmancy paper next to her to dry. Why was it so hard for her to focus lately? She had sworn to herself that she would stop talking about Ron with Harry, but every time they were studying, she somehow got back to the subject of Ron and Lavender. Did it perhaps have anything to do with the fact that studying with Harry alone didn't feel right? Uncompleted? Somehow, she always felt that it should be Harry, Ron and herself, writing their assignments together, or just her alone.

She shook her head, trying to extinguish the traitorous thoughts and focused on the page in her Potions text:

_For the Everlasting Elixir, it is even more necessary than with other potions to clean the vials and bottles said liquid will be kept in, as it is known to mingle perfectly with some other potions, thus creating side-effects and even dangerous odours which could intoxicate and befuddle the brewer. _

That reminded her of something.

"And incidentally, you need to be careful." Before she could explain more, however, Harry interrupted.

"For the last time, I am not giving back this book. I've learned more from the Half-Blood Prince than Snape or Slughorn have taught me in--"

"I'm not talking about your stupid so-called Prince," she said, tossing the book a glare. "I'm talking about earlier. I went into the girls' bathroom just before I came in here and there were about a dozen girls in there, including that Romilda Vane, trying to decide how to slip you a love potion. They're all hoping they're going to get you to take them to Slughorn's party, and they all seem to have bought Fred and George's love potions, which I'm afraid to say probably work --"

"Why didn't you confiscate them then?" Harry had turned pale and his voice wasn't quite his own.

"They didn't have the potions with them in the bathroom. They were just discussing tactics. As I doubt the Half-Blood Prince," she glanced again at the book that had caused her to be second best in a class, "could dream up an antidote for a dozen different love potions at once, I'd just invite someone to go with you, that'll stop all the others thinking they've still got a chance. It's tomorrow night, they're getting desperate."

"There isn't anyone I want to invite," Harry mumbled back. Hermione looked at him, and saw that he was now blushing a bit. Did the idea of asking someone to the party really scare him that much?

"Well, just be careful what you drink, because Romilda Vane looked like she meant business." She saw in the corner of her eye that she had made a mistake in her Arithmancy essay, and hitched it up again, scratching the now incorrect answers away with her quill.

"Hang on a moment," he said slowly. "I thought Filch had banned anything bought at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"

"And when has anyone ever paid attention to what Filch has banned?" she asked dryly, keeping her eyes on her essay.

"But I thought all the owls were being searched. So how come these girls are able to bring love potions into the school?"

"Fred and George send them disguised as perfumes and cough potions," she remembered from what she had read last summer. "It's part of their Owl order service."

"You know a lot about it."

She shot him a look, and he shifted uncomfortably.

"It was all on the back of the bottles they showed Ginny and me in the summer. I don't go around putting potions in people's drinks... or _pretending to_ either, which is just as bad..."

"Yeah, well, never mind that," said Harry quickly. "The point is, Filch is being fooled isn't he? These girls are getting stuff into the school disguised as something else! So why couldn't Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school --?"

"Oh, Harry... not that again..." she sighed. For the few weeks where he hadn't metioned Malfoy, she had really hoped that he had forgotten about this crazy idea.

"Come on, why not?" demanded Harry.

"Look, Secrecy Sensors detect jinxes, curses, and concealment charms, don't they? They're used to find dark magic and dark objects. They'd have picked up a powerful curse, like the one in the necklace, within seconds. But something that's just been put in the wrong bottle wouldn't register -- anyway love potions aren't dark or dangerous --" Harry muttered something under his breath, but she continued over him. "So it would be down to Filch to realize it wasn't a cough potion, and he's not a very good wizard, I doubt he can tell one potion from --" but she suddenly stopped talking. Was it just her, or had something moved behind those shelves? She looked at Harry, who was also listening closely. Apperently he had heard it too. They waited, and a moment later, the vulture-like countenance of Madam Pince appeared around the corner. Hermione actually let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

"The library is now closed. Mind you return anything you have borrowed to the correct -- _what have you been doing to that book, you depraved boy_?" Madame Pince shrieked. Her eye had fallen on the Prince's book, and she lunged at it.

"It isn't the library's, it's mine!" said Harry hastily.

"Spoiled!" she hissed. "Desecrated, befouled!" Hermione hastily grabbed her belongings and put them in her bag.

"It's just a book that's been written on!" said Harry, tugging it out of her grip. For a moment, Hermione closed her eyes. Sometimes, Harry could be really tactless. How could he say such a thing to a librarian? She quickly grabbed Harry by the arm and marched him away, while Madam Pince her eyes almost popped out of her head at the thought that Harry found it normal to use a book as if it was an ordinary parchmentscroll.

"She'll ban you from the library if you're not careful. Why did you have to bring that stupid book?"

"It's not my fault she's barking mad, Hermione. Or d'you think she overheard you being rude about Filch? I've always thought there might be something between them..."

"Oh, ha ha…"

Talking at a normal volume again, they walked up to the common room, where, as soon as the portrait opened, Romilda Vane materialized at Harry's side.

"Hi, Harry! Fancy a Gillywater?" her smile was twice as wide as usual and Hermione saw that she had changed her clothes in the time she and Harry had sat in the library. Hermione shot him a meaningful look, and Harry's eyes widened.

"No thanks, I don't like it much," he said quickly.

"Well, take these anyway. Chocolate Cauldrons, they've got firewhiskey in them. My gran sent them to me, but I don't like them."

"Oh-- right -- thanks a lot. Er-- I'm just going over here with…" He grabbed Hermione by her shoulders and quickly walked over to two armchairs that stood far away from Romilda, in the meantime using Hermione as a human shield.

"Told you," she couldn't help but saying. "Sooner you ask someone, sooner they'll all leave you alone and you can -"

But she stopped in mid-sentence. One of the armchairs they had been walking up to was now occupied by Ron and Lavender. Her mind suddenly turned quite blank, leaving her capable of nothing but an intense desire to throw something. To prevent herself from doing so, she said "Well, good night, Harry" in a voice that sounded a great deal higher than her own, then spun on her heel and walked up to the dormitory.

When she fell into bed, she knew that she had made the right decision in asking Cormac to the party. Ron would never know what hit him.

_hmm... a little too much straight from the book, but that just needs to be done sometimes..._

_As always thanks to my beta-er, Lisa. _

_I asked last week to tell me what you thoughts were about the story, and squeee! 19 reviews! My whole Thuesday afternoon was spend by replying! (which is a good thing!)I think the most mentioned comment was that we didn't see enough of Harry: I hope I made that up with this chapter, where there's enough Harry for now...And as I already explained in a lot of the reviews: When Harry shows up in my story, he usually shows up in a piece that's straight from the books... which most of the time isn't so interesting to write, or read, since this story is about what happened behind the scenes. However, I can promise that he will be in a lot of Christmas-holiday chapters! _

_Another complain-point was that the last few chapters were mostly focused on Hermione, even the ones from Ginny's perspective. I kind of did that on purpose, since Ginny will have a LOT more chapters in the second half of this story, and I wanted to keep it balanced. Patience, reading grasshoppers... I haven't forgotten about her and Harry..._

_Next up: Hermione laughs, then cries, then gets angry and then takes revenge... A rollercoaster ride of emotions! \_

_and reviews are, as always, appreciated!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	48. About impersonating and gossiping

_If I were JK Rowling I wouldn't be squeezing my eyes at the computer screen right now, because I left my glasses at my parent's. _

**48. (About impersonating and gossiping)**

"Revenge converts a little right into a great wrong."

_Anonymous_

"Well done, Miss Granger! Twenty points for Gryffindor!" McGonagall walked by and gave Hermione one of her rare smiles.

She listlessly smiled back. She had practised the colour-changing spell last night, unable to fall asleep. It was far easier to do it in a well-lit classroom when you had tried to practise it in the dark, holding your book and a candle up with a _Leviosa_-spell, while trying to point your wand at your eyebrows, checking the colour with a little pocket-mirror.

She stared into the distance, thinking about the upcoming party. She was pretty sure that it wouldn't be fun going on a date with McLaggen, but she might be able to survive it by escaping and finding Harry. She only hoped that it would make some impression on Ron. Maybe he really didn't care about her anymore and he wouldn't mind her dating McLaggen. Maybe he saw her also as an enemy, and would actually think that they were a match made in heaven. It would make the whole evening even worse if Ron didn't even notice.

Laughter on the other side of the classroom shook her out of her thoughts, and she looked up. Harry and Ron were laughing at Harry's failed attempt to colour both his eyebrows. Only one was yellow; the other one still dark. The contrast looked ridiculous: as if one of his eyebrows was shaved away. She suddenly realised how much she missed those little moments of fun. She didn't seem to have much of those with Harry when Ron wasn't there.

"Well, you try it then!" she heard him say to Ron.

Ron stood with his back in her direction. He faced the mirror, and Hermione saw that he wasn't looking at himself, like he was supposed to. Instead, his gaze was on her, and she suddenly realised that she had been staring at him and Harry for quite a while now. However, she did not avert her eyes, and kept staring back fiercely. Ron broke the eye contact first. He immediately pointed his wand at his eyebrows, giving Hermione one last glance, and muttered the spell.

The sound of gunfire was heard and in a puff of smoke, Ron managed to grow himself a gigantic moustache. Lavender shrieked as if she had been hit herself and ran over to Ron to check if he was all right, and Parvati and Harry had to hide their laughter. The grimace Ron made, along with the moustache he had spread over what seemed to be his whole face, was enough to give even Hermione the giggles, and she started to laugh.

Almost immediately, Lavender turned around, giving Hermione a nasty scowl. This didn't stop Hermione from laughing, however: the whole scene looked so ridiculous that she only laughed harder. She wasn't the only one: Seamus and Dean had started to chuckle too. Ron became tomato-red.

"Mr. Weasley, I suggest you do the extra homework about colouring spells this week. Clearly you don't have them quite under control yet," McGonagall said, while pointing at Ron's face to vanquish the moustache. "Miss Brown, return to your own seat, please." The professor then waved her wand again, making all the mirrors float to her own desk.

"Now, can anyone tell me what the exact difference is between the colouring of human hair, and the colouring of animal fur, as quoted by the Handbook of Transfiguration spells?"

Her hand shot up as if by reflex.

"Miss Granger?"

"According to the Handbook, animal fur…" but her mind was suddenly quite blank. In the reflection of one of the mirrors on McGonnagall's desk, Hermione could see Ron doing an impression of her, his hand waving obnoxiously in the air while he was sticking out his front teeth.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall, clearly unaware of what was happening in the back of the classroom, as her attention was on her, awaited an answer. But fortunately, the bell rang at that moment. Hermione felt tears prickle in the corner of her eyes and stormed out of the classroom and down to the bathroom a floor below. There, she immediately started to wash her face, as if to hide that there was also water pouring out of her eyes.

"Moaning Myrtle? Is that you? It's so nice to see you again. You still haven't told me how – oh, Hermione, it's you! What's the matter?"

A serene voice echoed through the bathroom, heralding the entrance of Luna Lovegood. She was standing in the doorway, but hurried over to the sinks when she saw Hermione.

"What's wrong?"

Hermione didn't answer, but just started to cry more.

Luna gently took her by her shoulders and gave her a hug.

"It's so stupid… how can I be so worked up about Ron?"

"What happened? Did you have a fight?"

"Yeah, something like that…" She still sniffed, but the tears had stopped.

"Maybe you have a Lacrimantus on your tail. They are quite hard to get rid of, but if you really focus on the pain they're causing you might be able to—"

"No, I-I think I'm fine. Thanks, though." She didn't need the girl's pity. It was ridiculous to cry over such a stupid impression. She was used to them, wasn't she? In her first year, she had endured them daily, mostly from the same boy who had been doing it now.

"Let's go to lunch," she said. Luna looked curious, but nodded and followed her out of the bathroom.

"Oh, hello, Harry," said Luna suddenly. "Did you know one of your eyebrows is bright yellow?"

Harry, still sporting his colored eyebrow, stood in front of them. Hermione hadn't noticed that she had forgotten to take her quills and some of her books until now, when Harry held them up.

"Hi, Luna. Hermione, you left your stuff…"

"Oh, yes," she said, still sniffing and realizing that her eyes felt puffed up and must be red from the tears. She didn't want Harry to see that she had worked herself up about this "Thank you, Harry. Well, I'd better get going…"

She hurried of to the Great Hall, leaving Harry and Luna behind. She knew that if she would turn around, she could see them both looking worriedly in her direction.

--

During lunch, her grief had resolved itself back into anger. Hermione had heard from Peeves' yelling that Harry had finally made up his mind and asked Luna to the party. She wondered if the rumours in Hogwarts had already picked up on her date. That didn't seem to be the case (she hadn't heard Peeves or any of the Slytherin fourth years say anything) so at dinner, she decided to take matters in her own hands.

"Oh, hi, Hermione!" Parvati beamed sweetly at her, and broke off the story she was telling to Harry. Hermione smiled back. She knew that the girl was only being polite because she had laughed at Ron's impression of her before.

"Hi, Parvati!" said Hermione. She focused completely on Harry and Parvati, and tried to prevent her ears from hearing the sounds coming from next to them as much as possible. "Are you going to Slughorn's party tonight?"

"No invite," said Parvati gloomily. "I'd love to go, though, it sounds like it's going to be really good... You're going, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm meeting Cormac at eight, and we're–"

The name definitely had some impact on the group. Harry's eyes widened, Parvati's jaw dropped, and though Hermione didn't look at the other two, the snogging seemed to have stopped abruptly, "—we're going up to the party together."

"Cormac?" said Parvati. "Cormac McLaggen, you mean?"

"That's right," said Hermione sweetly, seeing Ron begin to turn dangerously red. "The one who _almost_ became Gryffindor Keeper." At this, she saw Harry pale. Ron was clenching his jaw so hard it was a wonder he hadn't cracked a tooth yet.

"Are you going out with him, then?" asked Parvati, wide-eyed.

"Oh - yes - didn't you know?" she said, and attempted a giggle.

"No! Wow, you like your Quidditch players, don't you? First Krum, then McLaggen." This was working far better than she'd imagined; Parvati was hanging on her every word, and she knew that before dinner was over, at least half the Gryffindor table would know about her date for tonight. If Harry hadn't got a date at the same day, she was sure that Ravenclaw would know too, but they were too busy glaring at Luna.

"I like _really good_ Quidditch players," Hermione corrected her, still smiling. She felt a bit like a toothpaste ad her parents had hanging in their waiting room. "Well, see you... Got to go and get ready for the party..." She giggled again and turned around, not daring to glance at Ron, but knowing that she at least had made him stop kissing _her._ She smiled. Her doubts about the date were gone: She still had some effect on Ron.

* * *

_Again, a lot from the books, but I actually think that there's more personal input in this one than in the chapter of last week..._

_I know you guys are getting a bit sick about Hermione and her revenge-plan to Ron, but that's exactly how I want it... I mean, by this way, you read that she's really doubting herself and the plan..._

_Anyway, next up: A Ginny-pov-chapter and the reason why she wasn't seen at the party..._

_thanks, as always, to Lisa, beta-loyalist as she is, and the reviews I got from all of you last week!_

_For those of you who didn't know: They have invented something for you when you feel the urge to comment on the story: It's called a review-button. They also made a reply-button for me :)_

_x-mokimik-x_


	49. About rowing and stunning

_If I was JK Rowling I would be happy about far more important things than only a good grade for my presentation_

**49. (about rowing and stunning)**

"The worst-tempered people I met were the people who knew they were wrong"

_Wilson Mizner_

"Fine! Then I won't go to the Christmas party with you either! Apparently I am the worst girlfriend ever, so why bother taking me out to a party?"

There weren't that many people walking by, but the few that did curiously stared at her and Dean, with whom Ginny was rowing in one of the fifth floor corridors.

"Ginny! You're so unreasonable! Why can't you spent Christmas with me and my parents?"

"I told you already! Because I have to be home! My mum is worried sick about me and Ron!"

"Then let me stay with you!"

"And have you pestered and bullied by all my brothers? No, Dean, I wouldn't want to do that to you."

"You just don't want me to meet them!"

"Not all at the same time! Trust me, I'm doing you a huge favour! Why do you care so much about being together during the break? Is it really just because our six-month anniversary is during the Christmas holidays?"

"Yes! Is it that hard for you to understand that I want to be with you then?"

Ginny sighed. "Dean, it's just a date on the calendar. I honestly don't understand why you have to take it so seriously."

"Well, excuse me for taking us together seriously!" She could tell that he was really mad now. But well, so was she.

"Are you claiming that I don't take us seriously enough?"

"Yeah, maybe I am! I'm really crazy about you Ginny, but sometimes I just can't follow you. It's like you're acting as if I'm dead weight!" he whispered furiously.

A silence followed. Ginny didn't know how to react to this. She would deny it if asked, but it was as if for once, Dean understood her feelings completely. She did see Dean sometimes as the reason why she couldn't be more herself. She did feel imprisoned.

She shook her head.

"Look Ginny, I shouldn't have said that," he said, clearly thinking that she was far too angry to talk. His eyes met hers. "Can we just forget about it?"

"Dean, you just can't stay over for Christmas. You just can't."

She wished that she could explain it more to him, but she actually didn't understand herself why she was so eager to go home alone. Maybe it had to do with the war. Almost everyone in her family put themselves in danger every day, and it would be very ungrateful to not celebrate one of the few happy moments she had with them.

But that didn't explain why she didn't want Dean to come over to the Burrow. Of course the house was full, but there had always been room for Hermione and Harry, and now that the former wasn't coming, there was actually a spot open. And her brothers would pester him anyway, whether he came over now or accompanied her to the wedding of Bill and Fleur this summer.

Perhaps it had more to do with her. Ginny couldn't deny that the idea of being apart for two weeks appealed to her. She didn't want to lose him permanently, but it would be rather nice to be away from Dean for a while, not having him watching over everything she did.

Dean nodded, slowly and sadly. "You know what? Let's not go to the party tonight. I'm not really in the mood."

She nodded gratefully.

"We can just talk by the fire in the common room," she suggested. Dean didn't reply, but took the lead towards the Fat Lady.

* * *

"What do you mean you're not going?"

Hermione was clearly upset. She was holding her dress robes in one hand, while combing her hair with the other one.

"I'm just not in the mood for Slughorn and his associates," she shrugged.

"But Ginny, you have to go!"

"It's an invitation, not a demand. Besides, you'll have more time for your date," she added. To her delight she saw that Hermione reddened a bit, probably out of embarrassment. Ginny leaned over, and whispered, "Do you have brain damage, Hermione? Parvati told me you're going with Cormac McLaggen! Since when do you like complete dingbats who can't do anything but stare at themselves in the mirror? At least Ron was able to use full sentences without the words 'me, myself and I'!"

"I- he…oh, shut it! This isn't about me!"

"Yes, it is! You only want me to come to the party because your date is an arse! And you only picked him because it would annoy him—" she jerked her head into the direction of Ron and Lavender, "—the most. Just admit it, Hermione!"

But Hermione didn't admit anything. She replied haughtily, "You're clearly not going. I guess I will see you on the train, then. If you'll excuse me, I still have to do my hair and change before I meet Cormac in front of the Fat Lady."

With that, she turned around and walked back toward the dormitories, at which point Ginny noticed that she wasn't the only Weasley staring after her. The moment Hermione vanished up the stairs, Ron entangled himself from Lavender and came over to Ginny.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for the party, like all the other Slug Club members?" he asked bluntly.

Ginny shook her head. "Dean and I didn't feel like going." She glanced at said boy, who hadn't talked to her since they had entered the common room after their row.

"Trouble?" Ron smirked, as if hoping for it.

"That's none of your business," she snapped.

"Of course it is! You're my—"

But Ginny interrupted him angrily. "You know what, Ron? I'm getting sick of that argument. If you really feel the need to protect me, you've got to start like acting like a role model first, since you're not such a good one at the moment. But when I'm being chased by a flock of birds, I'll ask for your help, all right?" Ron hadn't deserved it, but he did get all her pent-up anger from the evening. Just like Hermione's had a few moments before on the same spot, his face turned red, but this was out of anger instead of embarrassment, though.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that when I have problems with a healthy, normal relationship, you clearly won't be the person I would pick for advice!"

"You don't see Lavender and me sitting miles away from each other!"

"Well, that's the problem, isn't it? I can't imagine why you would voluntarily be in her presence at all!"

"You—" Ron looked as if he might hit her, but he suddenly deflated, staring past Ginny toward the girls' dormitories.

Ginny turned around and saw Hermione descending the stairs, ignoring both Weasleys. Her red dress-robe fit perfectly and in the few minutes that she had been upstairs, she had turned her hair in an elegant knot, with some loose pieces of her hair framing her face.

Cormac was waiting in front of the portrait hole and Hermione giggled at his first comment, then took his arm and let herself be guided out of the common room.

Seeing the look on Ron's face, Ginny felt all her anger leave her. She couldn't have made Ron look more miserable with all the snappy and unkind remarks in her arsenal. Without saying anything to her, he turned around and walked up to his dormitory.

_Well, there you have it_, Ginny thought. _This definitely looks like the end of Ron and Hermione. _

* * *

_So in short: trouble in love-paradise for Ginny and Dean, and Hermione seems to finally get her revenge..._

_As always, thanks to Lisa and all the reviews I got, especially from one crazy person, who took it as her personal quest to review every single chapter in one week... my mailbox is still crying of the scare you gave him...:-)_

_I hope you have noticed that this is the 49th chapter! We are almost at the middle of our story, and to celebrate, I have made a one-shot about Hermione... :) It will come out next week, along with the 50th chapter of this story, but cool, constructive reviews of this week get a spoiling-peek-scoop!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	50. About escaping and being desperate

_If I were JK I wouldn't be so excited about this 50th chapter, since I had already written many more. _

**50. (about escaping and being desperate)**

"I can't go on any more bad dates. I would rather be home alone than out with some guy who sells socks on the internet."

_Miranda Hobbes, "Sex and the City"_

This could have been such a great evening… if only she had been here with the right boy. Or with no boy at all, for that matter. Even having empty space next to her was more welcome than standing with McLaggen at her side.

"And then of course there was that save I made the summer between third and fourth year. I was playing a few guys from the nearest town and they had some Chasers that flew so well that you couldn't even see them passing the Quaffle to each other, but I managed—"

She just smiled and nodded, pretending to listen. In the meanwhile, she really wished she had seen Ron when she left the common room. Now she didn't even know if this whole stupid plan would even work. And why had she come up with this idea in the first place? Really, asking a guy out to make another one jealous? It didn't sound as a plan that had been thought up by a girl who once had a 120 percent score on a Charms exam. It sounded like the plan of somebody who was becoming desperate.

Oh, Merlin. Had she missed her own mental memo? How had this happened?

"—and then I caught it with my fingertips, but managed to slam it so far away that we all had to fly down to search for it in the woods that surround the Quidditch pitch in my backyard. Quite impressive, don't you think?"

"Hmm, yes, indeed," she murmured, as they walked towards the party. They had taken a detour, because Cormac had to pick up his broom from the broom shed first to take it with him on the Christmas holiday, when he was apparently going to Switzerland to stay with family. She already felt sorry for whoever had to spend two whole weeks with him in their house.

"Did you really have to wear that red dress?"

"Excuse me?" She blinked. Clearly she had not heard him well.

"Well," he said smoothly, placing his arm around her neck (he really shouldn't have put on that much cologne) "When you asked me, I said that we would clash horribly if you wore red, remember?"

Being the top of her class, Hermione had remembered. She had, as a sign of rebellion, decided that she wasn't going to be Cormac's puppet the whole evening and that the new red dress she had bought this summer was too pretty to leave in her trunk tonight.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have forgotten," she replied sweetly with her thirty-ninth fake smile this evening.

"Hm… well, at least you got your hair done. Managed to tame that mess, didn't you?" he laughed.

_One, two, three…, s_he counted calmly in her head, only smiling back. This guy really had some nerve! Even a Slytherin would have been nicer! Or at least would have shut up. How dare he make a comment about her hair, when, by the looks of it, he had put so much gel in his own that it was now permanently greasy and resembled a more stylish version of Snape's hairdo.

They finally arrived at the door of Slughorn's office. She was reaching out for the doorknob when suddenly, Cormac took her hand and stroked it. Very surprised, and a bit scared, she looked at him.

"Look." He waggled his eyebrows and pointed at the top of the doorframe. "Mistletoe."

Hermione felt her stomach churn and she stepped back quickly, bumping against the doorframe. Cormac placed his hands on her head, and leaned in her direction. She panicked completely. This was absolutely not what she wanted! His face drew nearer and nearer –

"Help! It's probably full of Nargles!" she screamed.

Confused, Cormac looked up at the mistletoe. Hermione took advantage of this distraction by turning the doorknob, slipping out under his arms and disappearing into the party, which was – thank Merlin – quite loud and crowded. She could have sworn that she had heard him yell "Hey!" but didn't even bother to turn around, trying to make the distance between them as big as possible. It seemed as if luck was on her side tonight: the office had been enlarged and Slughorn had decorated the place with draping and fairy lights, which made the room not only festive, but also quite hard to find somebody in. However, that also meant that it was quite hard for herself to find the right people.

"Hermione! Hermione!" She spun around, grateful for a familiar voice.

"Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna!" Luna smiled serenely at her, resembling a Christmas-decoration in her silver robes, but a rather nice decoration, to be fair. Harry, standing next to her, had his usual dress-robes on, but he looked handsome nonetheless.

"What's happened to you?" he asked

"Oh, I've just escaped – I mean, I've just left Cormac," she said. "Under the mistletoe," she added in explanation. Harry frowned.

"Serves you right for coming with him."

For one tiny moment, she was about to argue with Harry about how Cormac was actually rather nice and that he shouldn't judge people so soon. But then she remembered what he had said about her hair again and in a rather small voice, she answered truthfully: "I thought he'd annoy Ron most. I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole -"

"You considered Smith?" said Harry, revolted.

"Yes, I did, and I'm starting to wish I'd chosen him, McLaggen makes Grawp look a gentleman." That reminded her of how tall he was and she hastily looked around. "Let's go this way, we'll be able to see him coming, he's so tall..." The three of them made their way over to the other side of the room. Hermione was so busy looking over her shoulder that she realized too late that Trelawney was standing in front of them.

"Hello," said Luna politely to Professor Trelawney.

"Good evening, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, slurring slightly. "I haven't seen you in my classes lately..."

"No, I've got Firenze this year," said Luna. Nor she nor Trelawney seemed to notice that Hermione was trying to avoid Harry's stern gaze.

"Oh, of course," said Professor Trelawney with an angry, drunken titter. "Or Dobbin, as I prefer to think of him. You would have thought, would you not, that now I am returned to the school Professor Dumbledore might have got rid of the horse? But no… we share classes… It's an insult, frankly, an insult. Do you know…" Hermione looked at her former professor; it was obvious that she was rather tipsy. Harry drew closer to her.

"Let's get something straight. Are you planning to tell Ron that you interfered at Keeper tryouts?" he whispered. He was trying to hide behind her as he said it, hoping to avoid getting noticed by Trelawney.

"Do you really think I'd stoop that low?" she said. Though that was sort of a lie: in the darkest hour of the night, she had considered it as an option.

"Hermione, if you can ask McLaggen—"

"There's a difference," she explained, more for her own benefit than for his. "I've got no plans to tell Ron anything about what might or might not have happened at Keeper tryouts."

"Good," said Harry fervently. "Because he'll just fall apart again, and we'll lose the next match –"

Harry had gone a bit too far. One day, Hermione promised herself, she would teach Harry the meaning of the word "tact" and how to use it in front of a girl.

"Quidditch! Is that all boys care about? Cormac hasn't asked me one single question about myself, no, I've just been treated to 'A Hundred Great Saves Made by Cormac McLaggen' nonstop ever since—" She stopped in the middle of her tirade, because out of the corner of her eye she could see something big coming her way–

"Oh no, here he comes!" Without wasting time excusing herself, she quickly squeezed herself between two old wizards who were having a heated discussion near the Punch table.

It was only now that she spotted the house-elves near her knees, walking around with huge silver platters full of pastries and other snacks. Disgusted, she turned her eyes away, which fell on the nearest exit. She made up her mind in less than a second: this party had never been fun to begin with, and the House-elves were the last reason she needed. Her party was over.

Without thinking any further, she made her way over to the door and slipped through it. This night had been long enough, even though it was barely nine o'clock. She let out a sigh of relief as she closed it behind her, glad she had left that awkward situation.

However, nothing tonight could possibly go right, for standing alone in the corridor was the guy she very definitely didn't want to see right now.

_Hooray! The 50th chapter... and even with a cliffhanger!_

_As promised, a new one-shot is also online... Go check it out!_

_Thanks to all the reviewers, especially to those who have reviewed every week and/or never complained about updating quicker or the lenght of my chapters..._

_And also to Lisa, the beta, who actually changed a lot in this 50th chapter to make it seem like I write in normal English sentences. _

_Keep reading and reviewing!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	51. About gazing and surprising

_If I was JK Rowling, I wouldn't have a muscle-ache in my schoulders because of my crew training yesterday..._

**51. (about gazing and surprising)**

"Merry Christmas everybody! A Happy New Year to all the world"

_Charles Dickens_

"What are _you_ doing here?"

The boy in front of her shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "Patrol duties."

Thoughts were swirling through her head, but somehow, this was the first time after the Quidditch match that she didn't feel the urge to throw something at Ron, or cry. She still felt mad and sad, but not as helpless and pathetic.

Maybe asking Cormac out _had_ been a good idea. Not to make Ron jealous, but to gain some self-confidence again. If the guy, no matter how awful he was, had wanted to press his lips on her so much, than surely she must've looked all right.

However, the thoughts didn't make an end to the growing silence. She remembered that day in the greenhouse, when she had asked Ron to this party. Oh, how wonderful this evening could have been… instead, they were now avoiding looking at each other, lost for words. Then again, Hermione was pretty sure that if they had gone out this evening, there would have been moments like this too. Just not so... long…

"Well, I have to go. See you," she tried to say lightly, considering it possible that Ron had turned into stone and wouldn't say anything. After all, she would have tried for certain to get the ability to turn into stone, if she had to endure all Lavender's babbling. She turned, walking away from him and the party.

"Hermione…"

Ron had said it so softly that it could have been her imagination. However, when she turned around again and met his eyes, she knew that it hadn't been. He was staring right back at her.

It could have been seconds, or minutes, or even a few hours that they were just standing there, gazing at each other. She felt that odd squirming feeling in her stomach calm down, felt all her anger and pain just flowing out of her. She saw that Ron wanted to say something else, how he opened his mouth, how it seemed difficult for him, but how he kept it open nonetheless. There were so many emotions in his eyes… regret, sadness, longing….

"Hermione, there you are! I've been looking all over for you! What were you saying about Nargles? Are you feeling—."

McLaggen's timing couldn't have been any worse. Ron turned his eyes away immediately. She felt herself blushing like mad, but the fear and panic for the guy now standing next to her was also back.

"Oh, hi. Yeah, they're… really dangerous," she managed to say in a tiny voice.

Cormac ignored Ron completely. "Well, come back inside. There are some really interesting people in here. I already saw Gwenog Jones of the Holly Head Harpies and Eldred Worple brought a vampire with him!"

He took her arm and pulled her back to the door.

"I can't!" It seemed the words had come out of her mouth merely by instinct.

"What? Why not?"

For such a stupid guy, that was actually a pretty good question to ask. Why couldn't she join him back in a festive room, filled with interesting people, without having to say in front of Ron that it was because of Cormac himself?

"Because…" Her mind raced on top-speed, but it somehow seemed to be blank. "Because…"

"Because she has patrol duties with me." Her eyes widened and she stared at Ron with her mouth open. Cormac didn't seem to have understood either.

"Huh?"

"I came to tell her that if we miss our patrol duties again, or one of us doesn't show up, we'll be in real trouble and have to explain it to McGonagall."

"That's right," she managed to get out, hoping that she would sound convincing. "I'm sorry, Cormac, I completely forgot, but it's really necessary for me to patrol tonight. You go back and have fun. And give my regards to Slughorn."

And to make sure that Ron would see it and to end this conversation, she stood on tiptoe to kiss Cormac on the cheek and quickly turned around, walking away as quickly as was possible in a dress.

"But- but…" she heard Cormac stuttering behind her. Ron had already disappeared.

When she rounded the next corner, her controlled walk turned into a run and it was only at the Fat Lady that she halted. Panting slightly, she muttered the password and entered the common room.

It was only around half past nine on a Friday night and the common room was still pretty full. She saw Ginny in the corner, writing a letter. Not wanting another lecture, or questions about why she was already back, Hermione walked up to the stairs to the dormitories. There, among a lot of stuff she had scattered on her floor and bed barely an hour ago while preparing for the party, she cleared a place to sit and think. It felt nice to think, instead of crying, or feeling some other heavy emotion.

The only thing she could do was analyze what had happened. And coincidentally, analyzing was something she did very well.

* * *

But a girl could analyze only so much. At eleven o'clock, she was still wide awake and not able to think about anything besides what had happened this evening. What could it mean? Ron had been… nice. She really didn't deserve nice, after what she had done to hurt him. Did that mean that he didn't care about her and Cormac? Or did he save her from him, just _because_ he cared? And what exactly had that stare meant?

Her head was too full for sleep, so she changed into some normal clothes, grabbed her Arithmancy book, and went to the common room.

It was emptier then it had been a few hours ago; she could see Lavender and Parvati sitting near the fire. When Lavender saw her, she quickly stopped talking (Hermione thought that she herself might have been the subject), scowled in her direction and went up to the dormitory along with Parvati.

Ginny had already left. Hermione sat near the fire in one of the many comfortable chairs and opened the book, trying to focus on the letters on the page.

She must have dozed off, because when she opened her eyes again, the common room was empty. The sound that had woken her up was the portrait hole opening, allowing a very giggly couple to walk through. They were probably coming from Slughorn's party. Hermione wondered vaguely if Harry was back. Maybe he had finally got rid of Trewelany, and he was having a good time. She was sure Luna would entertain him with her stories. She decided not to wait for him, and to go to her bed again.

While removing the sticky pages of the book from where they had stuck to her cheek, the portrait hole opened again. She looked up, only to turn crimson: Ron was standing in the opening, looking surprised to see her. He turned pretty red also.

She didn't say anything, just grabbed her book and almost ran upstairs.

"Merry Christmas Hermione," she heard him say, before she closed the door of her bedroom.

It stopped her in her tracks. Just before she turned around and walked up to her bed, she whispered, "Merry Christmas, Ron."

* * *

_Whaaa, I know, far too little! Well, sue me! I really tried, but this is one of those situations where it's almost impossible to add more things. And I like this chapter nonetheless._

_Thanks fo all the great reviews last week, and also for the reviews of my one-shot: "Twenty fail-safe ways to charm witches." If you haven't read it yet and are unhappy with the lenght of this chapter, I glady inform you that that story had almost 9 pages full when I typed it up in Word..._

_Also, many thanks to Lisa, the faithfull beta ;)_

_Next up: returning to the Burrow with Ginny and an interesting conversation with Fred and George..._

_keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	52. About leaving and discovering

_If I were JK, I wouldn't be this abnormally happy about the fact that a collumn of mine stood in a local newspaper last Saturday._

**52.(about leaving and pestering)**

"You may love it when you get it home, but it doesn't always go with everything in the house."

Anonymous

"Suzanne, could you hold on to Arnold for just a minute? I have to grab my sweater from my trunk."

Ginny handed her pet over to the girl next to her and started to rummage through her trunk for what must have been the fourth time that morning. She had been too lazy to pack yesterday, which had resulted in her mania this morning. The professors had decided against sending everyone home on the train, instead setting up the Floo through each house's common room. The muggle-borns were brought home with side-along Apparation by the Head-girl, boy and some of the teachers.

"Found it!" she shouted triumphantly, holding the green sweater up in one of her hands.

"Hermione!" she heard Harry yell and looked up. He clattered down the stairs from the boys' dormitories and dragged Hermione away from the armchair where she was sitting with her trunk. Ron attempted to follow him, but was cornered by Lavender.

"Listen, I have to tell you something. It's about Malfoy and Snape. I saw them last night—" but Ginny couldn't hear any more of what Harry said, as Lavender almost screamed: "Oh, Won-won, I will miss you so, so, much! Promise you'll write to me at least three times a day!" Ron didn't a chance to say anything in reply, for Lavender had already flung herself at him and started kissing him before he could open his mouth.

Ginny quickly looked away. They still hadn't managed to improve their technique. It was the sort of kissing she thought really shouldn't be allowed in public places.

Dean had already left a few minutes ago, being side-along Apparated with Flitwick to his home. The goodbye between him and Ginny had involved a kiss, but was still rather coldly. They both hadn't forgotten their fight from the previous night.

"Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter!" McGonagall called from the fireplace.

"Have a nice Christmas, Ginny!" Suzanne said.

"You too!" Ginny hugged her and then walked over to Hermione and gave her a hug too. "Have a nice Christmas, Hermione! Good luck with telling your parents!"

"Yeah, thanks, I'll need it. Happy Christmas to you too, Ginny!" Hermione replied vaguely. It looked to Ginny as if the other girl hadn't gotten much sleep. Ginny then walked over to her Transfiguration teacher.

"Come along, come along. There are more people waiting," McGonagall said briskly. Ron finally disentangled himself from Lavender and without saying anything to Hermione, he followed Harry to the fireplace.

"Have a nice Christmas, professor," Ginny said politely, as she stepped into the green flames with her trunk in one hand and Arnold's cage in the other. McGonagall gave a polite nod.

"The Burrow!"

With the familiar whooshing sound, she vanished through the chimney.

* * *

"Oh, it's so nice to see you all home safe!" her mother said for the umpteenth time that evening, her eyes tearing up, as she levitated a stack of plates into the kitchen.

Fred and George rolled their eyes in unison.

"How's Hogwarts without us?" Fred asked.

"More normal," Ginny replied dryly.

"More boring, you mean."

She was sitting in the living room with Harry, Fred and George, while Ron had been sent upstairs to unpack his trunk, as he had failed to do that morning.

"No, I really mean more normal. How's the business going?"

"Booming. Our Christmas sales are already a lot higher then we expected."

"But we won't bore our baby sister with grown-up stuff. How's your boyfriend?"

"He's fine, but I won't bore my brothers with my personal life."

"You're our—" But Ginny interrupted Fred immediately.

"If you finish that sentence, I'll hex you. I've heard that from Ron at least a million times already."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Ginny," George said, "Ron's your brother too."

"Well, a fine example he is," she muttered moodily. She hated talking about Dean with her brothers. Especially when it wasn't going really well between them, and said brothers were named Fred and George.

"What do you mean?"

"If you'd seen him licking Lavender's face in public, you'd know what I meant."

Too late, she saw that Harry was making signs not to mention the topic.

"Wait… you mean that Ron has a _girlfriend_?" By the looks on the twins face, she had already given them the best Christmas gift they could have asked for. Harry shook his head and kept staring at his knees, steadfastly ignoring the looks Fred and George were shooting him.

"Yeah. Lavender Brown. Sixth year," Ginny filled them in.

"Wow." For a moment, it was silent in the room, but then Fred continued. "And here we were, thinking that he would come home with Hermione when he finally came to his senses."

"So that's the reason why she didn't come this Christmas, then? Too busy being mad at him?"

Harry nodded, but Ginny felt the urge to defend her friend.

"No, that's not the reason. She hasn't seen much of her parents for a long time, and since she was here for most of the summer, she decided to spent some more time with them!"

But Fred and George were barely listening, whispering in delight about the many ways they could torture Ron with this new information.

"Who are you kidding, Ginny?" Harry asked softly so the twins didn't hear him. "For Merlin's sake, she's even dating McLaggen to annoy him! She even said so last night…"

"Oh, now that you mention it, how was the party?"

"Oh, it was all right. I had a lot of fun with Luna."

"Luna? Harry, we thought you had better taste!" George said, pretending to be affronted.

"Hey! Luna is very nice!" Ginny fired up.

"I'm not dating Luna! I just went with her to a party, as friends!"

"And the Boy-Who-Lived couldn't have gotten anyone bett– I mean, else?" Fred corrected himself at the look on Ginny's face.

"There must be a lot of girls who like you, Harry, now that you're the 'Chosen-One'." George said, putting air quotes around the title. Harry turned red, but didn't reply.

"Yeah, do tell us, Harry. What's your type?" Fred tried to continue, but Ginny snapped, "Oh, give it a rest, you two!" Ginny expected that Harry would shoot her a thankful glance, but instead he turned even more red. At this rate he could give Ron a run for his money.

However, before anyone could bring up a new topic, an owl swooped trough the chimney into the living room, holding a letter in its talons.

It dropped the letter on Ginny's lap, hooted once, and left through the chimney again.

"Who's there!?" her mother shouted, running out of the kitchen with her wand drawn.

"No one, mum," George answered reassuringly. "It's just an owl for Ginny."

Ginny didn't hear her mother's reply. She had opened the letter and seen that it was from Dean. The first paragraph not only went on and on about how much he missed her, but even apologized for their fight.

Oddly enough, this didn't make Ginny happy. On the contrary – she was back to feeling like a caged bird.

_That's it for this week! Hope you guys liked it enough to give it a review!_

_Thanks to the reviewers from last week, and the eternal Beta, Lisa. _

_Next up: a cosy Christmas-moment in the Burrow, with a lot of Ron-pestering (he deserves it, for making Hermione miserable) and a little bit Harry-Ginny if you learn how to read between the lines..._

_keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	53. About pestering and decorating

_I'm pretty sure that if I was JK, I would smile when I would see my amount of money, instead of thinking about finding some more ways to cut back..._

**53. (About pestering and decorating)**

"I do come home at Christmas. We all do, or we all should. We all come home, or ought to come home, for a short holiday - the longer, the better - from the great boarding school where we are forever working at our arithmetical slates, to take, and give…."

_Charles Dickens_

"No Fred, that red one is supposed to hang there!"

She pointed a metre away from the place her brother was standing.

"Does it actually matter? Why can't we just hang these things with magic?" George asked. He was currently sitting on the couch, checking if the fairies he'd bought were radiating enough light.

"We always decorate the tree the Muggle way!"

"Yes, because when we started it, none of us could perform magic, Gin," came the reply of Ron, standing on a chair to hang another glittery chain from the ceiling. Harry was holding the chair.

"It's tradition," she replied sternly.

"It's lunatic," George muttered, but when she gave him a firm stare, he quickly started to check the fairies again.

"So… since we're talking about annoying things, Ginny, how's sleeping in the same room as Fleur? Already got the desire to murder her in her sleep?" Fred asked after a moment of silence, where only the newest single of the Weird Sisters could be heard.

Ginny's face darkened immediately. She didn't know what was worse: The fact that Fleur thought that Ginny was her best friend, or the fact that it took her future sister-in-law at least an hour to comb her hair, put on a nightgown, and go to bed. She was half wishing that Fleur would snore, or talk in her sleep. At least then she could really have a valid reason for not liking her. The boys would only swoon over her more if she told them that Fleur was being nice to her. ("How dare she!" she could almost hear Fred reply sarcastically).

Slowly, Ginny had started to realise that Fleur really was going to marry her oldest brother. Which meant that whether she liked it or not, Ginny would just have to deal with it. It just annoyed her incredibly that Fleur and Bill looked perfect while she and Dean were far from it.

"She's… well." Harry looked up, which made Ron almost fall from his chair. "Okay, she's still Phlegm! I can't put it any differently."

As if Ron had read her mind, he replied: "You'll just have to get used to it. She'll be your sister-in-law next summer and you can't change anything about that."

"Wow, Ickle Ronniekins, Lavender had better watch out."

"What do you mean?" Ron's ears were already starting to go red, as if he already knew that the twins would insult him.

"Well, it looks like you still can't get over the whole Veela effect."

"Says the one who isn't swearing when she's around! And since when do you hold doors open for _anyone_?" He looked expectantly at George.

The smile that Harry had playing around his lips seemed contagious: Ginny felt it on her face too.

Ron had now stepped of the chair and was quarreling with Fred and George, who only teased him more about Lavender. She rummaged trough some old tinsel and holly, searching for some more decorations to put onto the Christmas tree.

"Need a hand?"

Harry had come over. "I think they will probably be busy for some time." Fred and George were now making kissing sounds, while trying to give Ron some tips. Ron was getting angrier by the second.

"Somehow, I always forget that it's like this every Christmas," Ginny replied. "Bill and Charlie thought themselves too old for decorating, Percy was reading a book, never really helping, and Fred and George were teasing Ron over something, or trying to make him trip over some tinsel, which left me to put up most of the decorations."

Harry laughed.

"Just stop it, all right? It's my business!"

"Well, that's where you're wrong, Ickle Ronniekins. You see, since Mum is already unhappy about Fleur—"

"And about Percy, being the total prat that he is—"

"And about sad things like the war and stuff—"

"We really can't have another sister-in-law that Mum or Ginny won't like. Your girlfriend has to make our family happy again."

"So the question you really have to ask yourself—"

"And luckily you've got us to help you with that life-altering question, because it's far too difficult for your brain—"

"Is Lavender up for that job?"

Harry shook his head.

"He's going to explode any minute, you know," he said to Ginny.

"It's possible. When he was younger he mostly just started to cry."

"Oh, great. So you're humiliating him too."

"We're not humiliating him! Okay," she added, when Harry looked skeptically at her "_I'm_ not humiliating him. But since Percy's gone, Ron's their best target! It's not worth their time trying to do that to Bill or Charlie, they just laugh, and I've directed enough Bat Bogey Hexes at them for the twins to know they have to leave me alone. Now where is that stupid angel?"

"Well then, maybe you shouldn't be too hard on him. Like you said, he's got enough to endure from the twins without getting it from you, too," Harry muttered. She glanced at him and saw that he was rather red. He looked like that a lot lately. Since when did Harry blush so much?

"Fred, George, could you please get some carrots from the garden? And while you're at it, do something about the gnomes. I hate it when they try to climb into our Christmasstockings," came her mother's voice from the kitchen.

Fred and George stopped circling around Ron as if he was their prey and sighing, they went to the hall to put their jackets on.

"Sorry Ginny, duty calls! We have to leave you with these two for the rest of the decorations!" Fred said, stepping outside.

"Have you seen the Christmas angel?" she called after them. A pair of loud "No!"s made it through the door before it slammed behind them.

"I hate it when they do that," Ron grumbled. "Why does it always have to be me?"

"Maybe you just have to bite back a bit," Harry suggested. Ginny felt his gaze on her, but she was too busy searching to react to it.

"Where is that dratted angel?"

"Don't you remember? It got destroyed at Grimmauld Place last year her cat got to it," Ron reminded her. It took Ginny a few moments before she realised that with "her cat" Ron meant Hermione's Chrookshanks. Did that mean that Ron couldn't even mention Hermione's name? Or her cat's name, for that matter? It made her a bit angry. However, when Ginny looked at Ron, she saw that he looked rather sad, and Ginny didn't want to make a big problem out of it.

"So now what are we supposed to do? We don't have an angel for the top of the tree!"

But neither Harry nor Ron were listening, instead looking out of the window. Fred and George weren't in a hurry to get the carrots and had taken the opportunity to make a snowman. Forgetting for a moment that she had a decorating problem, Ginny stood next to them.

"I hope they lose their balance and fall into the snow on their faces," Ron mumbled angrily next to her.

"You really need to bite back, Ron," Ginny sighed, remembering Harry's plea from earlier. She grabbed her wand from her back pocket, flicked it, and quietly muttered, "_Triptus"._

Immediately, George fell on his back in the ankle-deep snow. Ron started to laugh.

"That's a good one! Remind me to ask He- I mean, to learn that one myself, Harry!"

It seemed that the fall had reminded the twins that they actually had a job to do and they started to pull some carrots out of the ground.

Ginny turned back to untangling the tinsel.

"Hey Ginny! Still missing an angel? We've found one! He bit Fred on the ankle when we were pulling carrots!"

The audible swearing coming from George's scarf told her that the "he" in question was a gnome.

"He'll pay for that!" Fred exclaimed. "Where's the glue?"

With some flicks of his wand, a bit of paste and two paper wings on his back, the Angel was finished.

Merry Christmas...ow, wait, no... we're still in October...

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter...I know this is actually a bit of pointless facts in this chapter, but it's always nice once in a while to have those...

Thanks for all the reviews, especially the not-signed ones! Even though I can't reply to the personally, I always like to get them, though it's easier for me if you'd sign in... then I can actually answer your questions...

Also thanks to Lisa, editor-extraordinaire...

Next up: New Year's Eve at the Burrow mixed with some semi-fluff...

x-mokimik-x

Ps: reviews are like Nogat: the more they destroy your theeth and fill your stomach, the more you want it...


	54. About celebrating and talking

_I'm not JK. If I were, I wouldn't have to disclaim myself the whole time XD_

**54. (About celebrating and talking)**

"Nobody who has not been in the interior of a family can say what the difficulties of any individual of that family may be."

_Jane Austen_

She heard some laughter coming from downstairs. Ginny sighed. Her family and the usual guests were celebrating New Years Eve, but somehow, her mind had refused to celebrate, and her feet had lead her to her bedroom.

Now she thought about it, a lot of her body had acted of its own accord this holiday. Especially her heart and mind.

They had refused to stop worrying about Hermione – though she probably just needed some alone time.

They had refused to keep her mouth shut to the twins about Lavender and Ron.

They had refused to be nice to Percy when he had come uninvited with Scrimgeour during Christmas dinner.

They had refused to be nice to Fleur, though no matter how she looked at it the fact remained that they were sharing a room at the moment and they would be family the next summer.

They had refused to write Dean back immediately when he had sent her that letter. In fact, they still refused to write back. Her brain had come up with some excuses: It was a bit pointless to write to someone you would be seeing in a week, wasn't it? Surely he could wait for a personal reply until after the break.

Quite suddenly (as always, she realised), the urge to fly hit her. She felt that caged-bird-feeling again: the room felt too small, as if the walls wanted to swallow her. But not just her room: the house, the ground around it, the Hogwarts castle, her boyfriend… her world.

When she turned around to grab a sweater, swearing she could already feel the wind through her hair, she heard a knock on the door. It seemed they had finally noticed her absence downstairs.

"Ginny, are you there?"

"Yes."

The door opened, and a mop of black hair became visible.

"Hi… um… your mum wanted me to get you. Phlegm… I mean, Fleur is driving her crazy. And it's only fifteen minutes until midnight; Fred and George are planning to set off the fireworks any moment now." He grinned, but Ginny noticed that Harry was a bit tense, as if he was nervous about something. He'd been acting oddly ever since they'd left Hogwarts; or maybe he'd even been that way there but she had only noticed now.

"Oh, okay," she answered, disappointed that she'd have to wait to go flying for at least a day. Now that she thought about it, her parents probably wouldn't have allowed her to fly at night anyway. Not that that had stopped her before, but still. One had to make certain concessions during a war.

"Sure, I'll come. Just let me get my sweater."

Ginny turned around again to search for said item, but the letter on her desk caught her attention first. It practically screamed (in Dean's voice) that it merited a reply. He had questioned her devotion to him before, and not writing back would only prove him right. She stared at it for a moment, considering taking it downstairs with her and writing a response there, but realised quickly that that wouldn't be a good idea. Bill would start asking questions about Dean again, and no matter how much she loved her eldest brother, that really wasn't any of his business. Just as it hadn't been Ron's, Fred's or George's.

She noticed that Harry was looking at her, but when she met his gaze, he quickly averted his eyes to look out the window.

"You, um… have a nice view from here." They both knew that it was an odd thing to say, as it was pitch-black outside.

"Yeah, I guess it's all right. You can't see as far into the distance as in Ron's room, but of course he's got the ghoul in the attic. I don't get much of that noise, at least."

Harry laughed again. "It's a pretty big window," he continued, still looking tense. "That's nice. Like you can just open it and…"

"Fly away," they finished together. Harry looked up in surprise.

"I actually did once, on Fred's toy-broom. I fell of course, being only four. So my dad put Muggle locks on it until I was old enough."

"Why Muggle?"

"Oh, Percy tended to break locking spells when he threw tantrums. Ron too."

He smiled and sat down on her bed, still looking outside. Ginny sat down next to him. Apperently Harry wasn't in a rush to get back downstairs.  She focused on the window. There was some light from a far-away bonfire barely visible if she squinted her eyes.

She didn't feel in a hurry to get downstairs either.

"So is it normal for weird things to happen to wizards when they're children?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Well, not as weird as surviving a curse that's only ever caused death and being told on their eleventh birthday that they're famous, of course—"

"Of course," he nodded, just as sarcastically.

"But weird things tend to happen. They just weren't as weird to us as they would be to a Muggle family."

"When I was a kid, I somehow managed to make my hair grow back in one night when my aunt had cut it too short. She went ballistic," Harry told her.

She laughed, picturing Harry as a younger version of the bald Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Bill managed to enlarge a lot of things. My mum told me that he once enlarged Percy, because he was annoying. You did that with your other aunt, right?"

He nodded.

"And Ron broke everything. My parents thought at first that he was just being clumsy, but when he started to mend them also, they knew there was some magic going on. Charlie got everyone's attention by making his voice really loud. He once made me cry by doing that. Fred and George did a lot of magic without a wand. They were good at disappearing, but my mum still doesn't know that it didn't have to do anything with magic: they just found a very high tree to climb. Later, Ron and I built a tree-house in it, with some help from Bill."

"And you?" Harry asked. Ginny noticed that he didn't seem as tense as he had.

"I exploded things." When he started to laugh, she added, "A lot of things, actually. We once had chicken that had to be cleaned of the ceiling because Mum wouldn't give me another piece until I had finished eating my peas. You still can see a bit of gravy-coloured ceiling just above the kitchen table. Oh – I almost forgot – I also turned George's hair green when he scared me once. It took Mum ages to find the counter and Fred teased him for weeks."

Harry laughed again. Ginny looked at him. He didn't do that often enough, laughing. He started to tell her how he had ended up on the school roof, how an ugly jumper had shrunk when he had to put it on, and a detailed story of how exactly Aunt Marge had floated through the living room.

"What had she said that made you so angry?" she asked, hiccupping from the giggles. Then she nearly cursed herself for asking: The happy sparkle quickly left Harry's eyes.

"Something about my parents. My aunt and uncle had told her that they were both unemployed, and, well… you can probably imagine."

A heavy silence fell, and for a few minutes, they both looked outside. Ginny had no idea how to react to this: She was feeling sorry for Harry. More than once she had realised what sort of terrible luck Harry had had in his life, but this was actually the first time she heard him say something about his parents, and after she had told him some happy memories about her brothers and herself, his story made an even bigger contrast to it, and an even bigger impact on her.

She turned her eyes from the window and looked at him. Giving him an encouraging smile, he nodded lightly, as if he understood and appreciated the gesture. Ginny didn't need words to let him know that she felt sorry.

Then, Harry's features changed, and his mouth turned into a devilish grin.

"So guess what Ron got from Lavender this Christmas?"

After hearing the answer, Ginny was too busy laughing to notice that midnight had already passed and the fireworks had started outside.

_This was actually the third chapter I wrote in this story...it's been so many times edited and re-written, but the main part -being a pure Harry-Ginny-moment- is still the same...Hope you liked it as much as I did writing and re-writing it..._

_Thanks as always to the great reviewers and to Lisa! you guys make my day and fill my mailbox :)_

_I got some comments in the reviews about Hermione: Don't worry, I've also written chapter(s) about her telling her parents that there's a War. We'll get there, but first:_

_Next up: Ginny, Harry and the search for an embarrassing Christmas-gift..._

_x-mokimik-x_


	55. About photographing and hearing

_If I was JK, I probably wouldn't be part of the crew-team and happy about my fourth place in my first match last Saturday... I wold be happy about the fact that I was JK. _

**55. (About shooting and hearing)**

"Look at this photograph. Every time I do it makes me laugh."

_Nickelback_

"Ginny, we can't do that!"

Ginny was rummaging in a drawer, with an evil grin on her face. "Of course we can," she replied calmly to a very nervous Harry.

"Look, I never should have told you about Ron's Christmas present. In fact, I'm pretty sure I swore I —"

"Harry." She turned around and faced him. "You can't take your words back. Unless you want to put a memory charm on me. But trust me, I will use curses to defend myself – even the ones you taught me in the DA," she grinned.

Harry still looked worried. "Why do you want to see it so badly?"

"Because then I can take a picture of it with… this." She had finally found the thing she had been looking for: the gift that Hermione had given to her this Christmas.

"Is that a Muggle camera?"

Ginny nodded. "Hermione gave it to me this Christmas after I mentioned I'd like to have one. The regular ones put off a lot of purple smoke and they smell rather odd after taking a picture."

Harry stared at her, his mouth hanging a bit open.

"You can't – you shouldn't – I…"

But Ginny opened the door and walked up the stairs, heading to Ron's room.

"Ginny!" he called after her. "Wait! Are you sure?"

"Yes, Harry. This is the best idea I've had since throwing parsnips at Percy!"

"But why? Do you hate Ron as much as Percy?"

That remark offended her and she turned around. "Of course not!" She stopped, looking aghast. "How could you even say such a thing?"

"I really don't see how taking such a picture shows sisterly affection for Ron!"

"It's for Hermione," she explained. "Look, you might be fine with Ron having a girlfriend to whom he's attached at the lips, but I'm not, and Hermione certainly isn't! While you're standing up for my dear brother, you might also want to consider the feelings of your other friend! What's going on with her? Why is she so incredibly angry with Ron that she attacks him with birds? Is it just because she likes him?"

Harry looked flustered, and for a few seconds, Ginny felt some odd feeling of guilt swimming in her stomach. She wondered if she had been too harsh, but she knew she was right and that she was merely making Harry face the facts.

"I don't know. I think they had agreed to go to Slughorn's party together, during some Herbology class, but the next thing I knew they weren't speaking. I've tried to talk to them, but Hermione's refusing to admit that she's angry, which is a laugh. She hasn't spoken to him after that whole bird-incident. And Ron's pretending he's fine, too! Trust me, I hate that they aren't speaking to each other just as much as you do! But do you think that taking a picture of the most ridiculous Christmas gift Ron has ever gotten is going to help?"

"Well, it'll do Hermione good and will probably take Ron down a few pegs," she mumbled, turning around again to continue up the stairs.

"Ginny," she heard Harry behind her say while he followed her, "Ron's not arrogant. He's just finally found some confidence. Please don't take that away now – think about how poorly he'll play Quidditch."

"No," she answered stubbornly, and her hand reached out to the door. Harry, however, jumped in front of it.

"Just promise me you won't show it to Fred and George. Only to Hermione. Please." He looked her in the eyes.

The plan had been to take the picture and develop two copies: one would be attached immediately to an owl and sent of to Hermione, and the other picture was for herself to show the twins tomorrow morning. But an odd feeling in her stomach grew when she saw the look Harry was giving her.

"All right," she sighed at last. "I promise." She saw Harry relax a bit.

"But only because his Keeper skills will go downhill if I show it to the twins! And you have to promise that you will try to talk to Hermione and Ron!"

"I really have been trying! But every time I do, Hermione makes it clear that I should stay out of it, and Ron refuses to see the problem."

Ginny opened Ron's room and looked around. On the left stood the familiar cot, and right next to it, Harry's trunk, half open. Curious, she walked up to it.

"Let me look," Harry mumbled from behind her, not following her gaze to his own trunk. "I think I saw him hiding it in here, somewhere." He walked to Ron's things, while Ginny noticed something.

"Who gave you so many Chocolate Cauldrons?"

Harry looked up as Ginny picked the two boxes with the Honeydukes emblem.

"Oh, Romilda Vane," he answered vaguely.

"What?"

"Yeah. Hermione reckons she's trying to poison me with a love potion or something, so don't eat them. She said she heard something about it in the girls' toilets." When he saw the odd look on her face, he grinned. "Don't worry, I haven't eaten them. Just haven't had a chance to get rid of them without the possibility of anyone fishing them out of the waste bin, checking the expiration date and eating them."

"Oh." She was surprised that Harry spoke so lightly about it, when Romilda was actually breaking a lot of school rules and putting him in danger. Harry saw that she was still holding the chocolates.

"Do you want to have them? I bet it would be hilarious if you'd give George or Fred one of their own love potions." He gave her another grin, but somehow, she didn't find the idea as thrilling as he did, and shook her head.

"No, thanks. Fleur and Lavender as evil sisters-in-law are quite enough. I don't need to add in Romilda Vane."

"Found it!" Harry suddenly said, and he held a necklace in his hand that was even more ugly then she could have imagined.

"Perfect," she said, turning the Muggle device on. "Just perfect."

She quickly took a few shots, grinning like mad. This was the worst present ever and Ginny thought Lavender might actually hate Ron. She must, because you would only give your worst enemy something this ugly.

After taking the pictures, Harry placed the necklace back in the bottom drawer and Ginny's eyes wandered back to the chocolates.

"So Romilda's not your type?" she suddenly blurted out. Harry's back stiffened and he suddenly seemed nervous again.

"Um, what?" he tried to laugh.

"Well, you have a lot of choices, lately. If Hermione's right about the love potion in these, Romilda clearly fancies you," she explained.

"I guess," he said, and avoided her eyes.

She could tell that he didn't want to talk about it, but before she could stop herself, her mouth had gone on without consulting her brain.

"So who _is_ your type?" He turned slightly red and continued looking anywhere but at her. "Come on, you must like one of those girls that are swooning over you!" She laughed at herself, because Harry clearly wasn't planning to even smile at it.

"Uh, I think we should probably get downstairs," he said suddenly.

"Yeah, I think so," she said, not sure why he was so uncomfortable. She had only meant it as a joke. Well, okay, she was curious too, but that was normal, right? Ginny had always thought that ever since she had gotten over her stupid crush on him, she and Harry could talk freely about these things, just like she had heard him talk to Hermione about Cho. Wasn't this the same?

They both left the room and Ginny closed the door. When they descended the stairs, she wondered if Harry was as vague with Hermione. That reminded her about Hermione, and she said: "You know what? You go. I have to finish a letter to Dean."

Harry nodded and left.

But when Ginny had opened her door, had sat at her desk and had looked at the letter, she shook her head. Dean could wait. Even though she would see her in a week also, just like Dean, she needed to get in contact with Hermione first.

okay, not as fluffy as last chapter, but hopefully enough Harry/Ginny conversation to keep you happy.

Two very good readers pointed out in their review that I had made a mistake last chapter: In DH, it clearly says that Harry had never been in Ginny's room, so he couldn't possibly be there during HBP. True, true.... but in my defence: I wrote this when DH wasn't even out yet.... so it wasn't a canon fact then... besides, I needed a cozy place for them to be alone...

Anyway, thanks as always to the reviewers, and to the editor Lisa....

next up: Hermione! What is happening in her Holiday?

reviews never hurt....

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	56. About reading and replying

_If I were JK, my refigerator would have more in it than only one piece of cheese. _

**56. (About reading and replying)**

-A Letter always seemed to me like immortality, for is it not the mind alone, without corporeal friend-

_Emily Dickinson_

Hermione was staring out of her bedroom window. She sighed. She really, really wanted to forget the letter she had received that morning, but couldn't bring herself to think about anything else. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to Ginny to ignore her. Her eyes slowly turned from the tree, sprinkled with snow and standing proudly in the Grangers' front garden, to the letter in her hand.

_Dear Hermione, _

_How are you? I know you will probably say "fine", or something along those lines, but I know you're not, so don't answer that. See it as a__ rhetorical__ question a person is obliged to ask at the beginning of a letter to pretend to be polite. _

_I hope your parents are in good health. Have you finally told them what's going on? You really should, you know. Preferably before you, Harry and Ron are lying dead on a battlefield because you did stupid heroic things. It will be easier for me to explain why their only child is dead, if your parents actually have heard of the name "Voldemort", or at least "You-Know-Who"...._

_Here's everything fine, but only superficially. Usually, Christmas at the Burrow is cosy, but my parents and the friends that came to visit are so jumpy that it doesn't seem right to celebrate. Scrimgeour came by, which made Christmas even more peculiar. He wanted to speak to Harry and as a diversion, he brought a not-so-welcome guest: Percy. Fred and George started to throw parsnips at him as soon as I had hexed the first one to explode in his face. I think the talk between Scrimgeour and Harry went just as well as forcing Percy upon us to be a happy family again: when they came back, Harry looked smug and Scrimgeour looked as if the parsnips on Percy's face made him nauseous. _

_Speaking of idiots to whom I most unfortunately am related, have you spoken to Ron lately? Or at all since November? _

_Look, I know it's not my business, but why are you so angry at Ron? Did he actually know you liked him when he started to date Lavender? And don't you dare denying that! I had to bring him to the Hospital Wing when those birds attacked him! I asked Harry, but he couldn't have been more vague – mumbled something about Herbology and Slughorn, but there must be more to it than that! I didn't understand a word of what he was saying. _

_Come to think of it, Harry has been pretty weird lately. Most of the time he answers shortly and stumbles over his words. Do you know what's wrong with him? _

_But anyway, you should really try talking to Ron again. Without you on his side, he's just a stupid prat. When you're around, he's a stupid prat with a nice friend I can talk to. And he's a bit too cocky since he got himself a stupid wench of a girlfriend. _

_Oh, before I forget: Thanks for the Muggle camera and the instructions to the potion to make the pictures move! I have used it already to take a picture that will make your day. I wanted to send it with this letter, but it's actually more fun for me to see your reaction, so you'll have to wait until school starts again. (Let me just say two words: "my sweetheart".)_

_I miss you here, Hermione. Home doesn't seem quite so nice without you here to talk to. And I'm worried about you. Not only because you have the horrible taste in guys (don't deny that either: first my brother and now McLaggen?), but also because you seem to be so depressed lately. _

_Please write back soon. _

_Yours, _

_Ginny_

Hermione felt angry at Ginny.

She'd thrown food at Percy, and had used hexes when she wasn't allowed.

She'd written far too openly about everything and ignored the fact that the mail could have been intercepted.

She'd told her she should tell her parents about what exactly had been happening in her life for the past two years.

She'd reminded her how much she missed the Burrow.

She'd told her to talk to Ron, when she was in fact trying to get over him since she had seen him kiss Lavender good-bye so passionately before the holidays.

She'd been so truly honest and right about everything.

The last item annoyed her the most.

Hermione fell on her bed, thinking. Maybe, just maybe, there was a tiny place in her brain where she also felt angry at Ginny for telling Ron she had kissed Viktor. After all, hadn't that comment led to the festivities she was trying so hard to avoid? If Ginny hadn't blurted out that she had kissed Viktor, Ron wouldn't have been angry with her, Harry wouldn't have had to pretend to put the potion into his drink, Hermione wouldn't have accused him of doing so, and they wouldn't have fought about that, which wouldn't have led him to Lavender at the party.

She sighed. If she was blaming Ginny for that, she should also blame Harry, Ron and especially herself.

She owed Ginny a reply, especially since the Weasely girl had noticed Hermione trying to avoid her for the last weeks. Grabbing a piece of parchment, an inkbottle and a quill, Hermione sat against the wall and started to write a reply back.

* * *

_short, I know....but I hoped you liked it...and I know Ginny writes very unsubtle, but that was just my opinion of how she writes,.... and also, bear in mind that she has already tried the sublte ways with Hermione...._

_Anyway, thanks to Lisa, and thanks to all the reviewers,...I hope you are willing to leave another one at this chapter!_

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	57. About lying and decisionmaking

_If I were JK, I wouldn't have mixed feelings when I think about WB. They would pay me, so I would be happy, instead of sad that the movie has to come out later then this week. However, I'm also content that they at least released another trailer (squee! it's so good!)_

**57. (About lying and decision-making)**

-You ask me why I do not write something....I think one's feelings waste themselves in words, they ought all to be distilled into actions and into actions which bring results.-

_Florence Nightingale_

She owed Ginny a response, especially since it was obvious she'd been avoiding the other girl for the last couple of weeks before the holiday. Grabbing a piece of parchment, an ink-bottle and a quill, Hermione sat against the wall and started to write back.

_Dear Ginny, _

_I have no idea what you mean about me being not fine. I __am__ fine. Everything is going well. Staying with my parents is nice. I had forgotten how much I had missed home, since I have only been here for five weeks out of the last two years. Of course I love spending time at your house; it's always so cosy, and there's always something going on when there are so many people. Very different compared to here, where it's just me, dad and mum… but it's just that no matter how many times your mum folds up my laundry, she still isn't my mum. _

_I haven't told them about the war yet, mainly because I'm scared that they will forbid me to go back to Hogwarts once they hear everything. That's why I'm planning to tell them the day before I leave: that way, the idea that I'm a likely target of a mass-murderer __and his supporters won't have time to sink in, frighten them, and make them want to come up with plots to keep me away from Hogwarts. If I'm not back after the break, however… Well, I will owl you if anything like that happens. In fact, I will owl you no matter what the outcome is, just to keep you up-to-date. You're right, Ginny; we definitely need to catch up soon. I've been busy lately, but I promise that I'll make some time free, the first week of January. _

_I haven't spoken to your brother. Ron has every right to kiss a girl he likes, though: I'm perfectly fine with it. I just don't think that my presence is wanted when he tries to lick off someone's face._

_Concerning Cormac, you were right: he was a mistake. I talked to him during the try-outs for Keeper at the beginning of the term and thought he was quite nice. How wrong I was. Apparently, Quidditch is the only thing he knows something about and he's a narcissist to boot. Not once was there a conversation between us that didn't involve an anecdote about his family. Anyway, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I'm glad we didn't get the chance to make another date._

_Could you please thank Harry for the Defence book he gave me? I have no idea why he's been acting so weird around you, but are you sure it doesn't have to do with everything else? Trust me, he has a lot on his mind at the moment (can't tell you a lot about it__ and especially not over Owl… sorry) and most of the time I'm happy for a full sentence that only has to do with school._

_Did Percy say anything when he stopped by? And how did your mother react? I'm sorry to hear that he was forced upon you like that, but I think Percy himself is sorrier about that, especially when he had to remove the parsnips from his hair and Christmas clothes__ (and didn't have his mum to do that for him.)_

_Anyway, send my regards and wishes to the rest of the family you do speak to, and thank your parents for me for the wonderful jumper your mother knitted for me – again. It fitted perfectly, and I don't think I've ever felt so warm and comfortable in my life. (Although, if they are still home for the holidays, tell Fred and George that if they send me a Skiving Snackbox again, I will tell their mum how they've been testing those products on first-years last year!)_

_Best wishes, _

_Hermione_

Seeing Errol flying off into the dark night, with the letter in his talons, Hermione felt a slightly guilty sensation in her stomach. Since when had everything become so messed up? She couldn't quite believe that she was lying to Ginny. If the girl had been here, it would have been impossible to do so, but she guessed that it was one of the benefits of writing instead of facing people. But she had certainly never lied to Ginny before, not like this. How come she couldn't be honest anymore, about anything? The part about Harry was a wild guess and just as vague as Harry had been towards Ginny and she was sure the girl wouldn't be pleased with her answer. But to be honest, Hermione didn't have a clue why Harry was acting the way he was and she felt a bit annoyed that Ginny had noticed it more quickly than she had. Had she been such a bad friend to Harry lately?

The part about her being fine with Ron having a girlfriend was a downright lie, and Ginny would see through it the moment she read it. But after all, what was Hermione supposed to do? Tell her that she was right, and then write a short novel about how much she missed Ron and what she thought the "gaze" they had shared the night before the holiday could possibly mean? She would probably have to tell it all anyway once they met to catch up, since she knew that Ginny would want every little detail. And since she had now promised to catch up with her, Hermione knew that Ginny would remind her of doing so.

She also knew that said girl wouldn't approve of the idea to tell her parents the day before she was to leave: Hermione herself didn't even approve of that plan! Her parents deserved the long truth: not a quick summarization before she kissed them on the cheek and took off again. With two little voices screaming in her head (one was called guilt and the other cowardice), she made up her mind: her parents would react the same, not any better, if she told them as soon as possible.

She turned around, feeling a bit nauseous at the idea of how her parents could possibly react, but descended the stairs anyway and opened the door to the living room. Her dad was putting the dirty plates into the dishwasher, while her mum was sitting on the couch, watching "A Christmas Carol" on the television. They looked so normal and happy and Hermione wondered how they would look after half an hour.

"Mum? Dad?"

"Yes, dear?"

"I have to tell you something. And, uhm…you probably won't like it."

* * *

_ I can almost hear the reviews: "Too short, with info that we already had..." I know guys, just hang in there... Hermione is repeating her thoughts over and over, so it's not as if there's a lot of new to tell....:)_

_thanks for the many reviews from last week, and of course to Lisa, who had just finished editing this in time...:D_

_next up: Hermione's version of what has happened the past 4 years, and the reaction of her parents...._

_keep reading!_

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	58. About confessing and forbidding

_If I were JK Rowling, I wouldn't have to remind myself that I still have to buy the book called "Harry a History". I would probably have been given it as a gift from the author..._

**58. (About confessing and forbidding)**

"Heroes take journeys, confront dragons and discover the treasure of their true selves."

_Carol Lynn Pearson_

She turned around, feeling a bit nauseous at the thought of how her parents might react, but descended the stairs anyway and opened the door to the living room. Her dad was putting the dirty plates into the dishwasher, while her mum was sitting on the couch, watching "A Christmas Carol" on the television. They looked so normal and happy and Hermione wondered how they would look after half an hour.

"Mum? Dad?"

"Yes, dear?"

"I have to tell you something. You probably won't like it."

At the sight of the grim face her daughter wore, Mrs. Granger turned the TV off. Hermione sat down in one of the comfortable sofas, facing her mother. Her dad was coming closer, a plate still in his hands. He sat down next to his wife and they both looked at her. Hermione started to fidget a bit: she had no clue where to start.

"What won't we like, dear?" her father asked, now looking curious.

"I haven't told you a lot about what's been going on in the Wizarding World lately. I thought that you'd probably like an update about…the…the current events." Her mum looked interested, as though she expected Hermione to proceed to talk about the latest fashion, or how wizards had found a new way to carry their cauldrons around.

"What do you mean? Your letters are always long and filled with details about your school and your friends."

Ignoring the last remark her dad made, Hermione looked at her feet. She swallowed. Her throat felt dry and she didn't know where to begin her story. She had never lied directly to her parents: just twisted the truth and mastered the skills of diversion and other tactics to avoid the subject, or anything related to the war. In her mind, it had seemed reasonable and logical, but now she was sitting in front of them, she wondered if it would sound just as logical to them. Probably not.

"Well…I've told you before that Harry defeated Voldemort when he was a baby. But he came back in our first year, and Harry defeated him again..."

"Yes, yes," her father interrupted. "You've told us that, and that he came back through a book during your second year. How he did it is still a mystery to me—"

"It's a mystery to almost everyone on the planet, Dad. But that's not what I wanted to tell you."

"Well, then, on with it already!" Her dad didn't look so relaxed anymore.

"At the end of our fourth year, Voldemort came back again. This time it wasn't as a parasite or as a ghost from a diary, but in a human form. Harry was there, he witnessed it." She paused, wanting to give her parents the opportunity for questions or remarks, but they remained silent.

"Voldemort was active last year, but the Ministry of Magic didn't believe he was alive. They didn't believe Harry, and they tried their best to cover up Voldemort's return. Dumbledore did believe Harry and reformed a special defence group: the Order of the Phoenix. Voldemort went to search for allies and his former supporters, the Death Eaters. At the end of last year, Voldemort had enough support to lure Harry to the Ministry of Magic, to retrieve something there that only he and Harry could get. It's a prophecy, and it was about both of them." She suddenly realised that even if she wanted to, she really couldn't tell her parents everything: most of the stuff she was telling them wasn't even known by ordinary wizards.

"Ron and I and some of our other friends went with him, but of course it was a trap and we were attacked by Death Eaters. I actually got hit by a spell – that's why I had trouble breathing the first week of summer, Mum.

"Almost all of us managed to get away safely, but Harry's godfather was killed, and the prophecy… somehow it was broken. Basically it said that Harry is the only person who can destroy Voldemort completely and this year, Dumbledore's giving Harry special private lessons… getting him ready."

She paused, wishing that a glass of water would appear out of nowhere in front of her, just so she could do something and not have this terrible silence. She had a feeling that her parents knew what she was going to say next. She looked at her mum, whose eyes were watery. Her dad on the other hand, looked distant, as if he was thinking very hard about something entirely unrelated. When it looked as if neither of them would ever speak again, she started to talk again, as if they had both had brought up hundreds of questions.

"I think I have already told you that Voldemort targets Muggles and Muggleborns, like me. But don't worry: I've asked members of the Order of the Phoenix to secure this house, and since last summer, there have been extra protective spells on this house."

Her dad let out a dismissive snort.

"Hermione, you just told me that this Voldemort is going after Harry, his friends and Muggleborns. Are you seriously suggesting that I don't have to worry, even though you can be placed in two out of those three categories?"

"Why haven't you told us before?" her mother asked, her voice strained. Her dad, in the meantime, had stood up and was pacing the room.  
"I wanted to, I really did, but it's just…"

"Let me guess. You didn't want us to 'worry'?" her dad interrupted in a sarcastic, harsh tone.

"Yes," Hermione replied quietly. She stared to her feet and noticed that there was a little hole in one toe. She concentrated very hard on it: everything was better than to face her parents at the moment. Even a hole in her sock.

"Hermione! Ever since you turned eleven and went off to that school, we haven't had any comprehension of what goes on in your life! Did you honestly think we haven't been worried already?" her mum asked again in a soft voice.

"And we clearly had every reason to worry! Apparently, you thought it was easier to leave us in the dark than tell us! You should at least have given us the chance to not comprehend it, Hermione!"

"I'm sorry," she said, in a strained voice, still looking at the hole. "I was afraid that if I told you, you would take me away from Hogwarts."

"Well, you guessed right. I'm sorry, Hermione, but we can't let you live in so much danger. I will send a letter to that woman tomorrow morning. What was her name?" He looked at his wife. "McGoneandall?"

"No! You can't do that to me!" She looked up; her father had clearly made his decision. Helplessly, she looked at her mum, who sighed.

"I'm sorry dear, but I agree with your father. It's for your own good. I promise you will get a chance to finish your education properly, but we will keep you home for as long as this war goes on."

Hermione turned back to the hole in her sock. There was a little voice in the back of her mind, yelling that she should use the best argument she had. It had also been the real reason why she had waited so long with telling her parents. But it was just so cruel. She couldn't do that to her parents. It would destroy the bond she had with them completely. She just shook her head, stood up and walked to her room. For now, she would let it rest. She would just need to find another way to get to Hogwarts.

* * *

_Again, very short, and not with a lot of new information.. I'm sorry, but these parts just need to be in the story, or it would feel incomplete.... I promise that the next one will be better, with more reaction from Hermione and another firm talk with her parents. _

_As always, this was edited by Lisa, my beta. The many compliments I get are sometimes more her work than it is really mine..._

_Thanks for all the reviews I've been getting! I love to hear that you people like the story... I actually can get enough from hearing that (or anything else, for that matter) so you know what to do when you feel the uncontrollable urge to write something to me! I noticed that they designed a new button for it, so click it!_

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	59. About raging and abandoning

_If I really were Jk, I wouldn't have fainted while checking my bank account. I would be out, Christmas-shopping in Harrords, spoiling my children with these amazing things...._

**59. (About raging and abandoning)**

Only strong personalities can endure history, the weak ones are extinguished by it.

_Friedrich Nietsche_

_Dear Harry, _

The moment she was done with the "y", she scratched out the name. She couldn't write Harry. Not when he already held the fate of practically the entire world on his shoulders. She couldn't bother him with something like this. Hermione looked out of the window, her vision unfocused and her mind working at top-speed. Ron certainly wasn't an option. If the problem with her parents had one positive effect, it was that the issue with Ron had been shoved to the back of her mind. Ginny couldn't help her either; Hermione felt already immensely guilty for the letter she had just sent to the youngest Weasely.

Who else was there to write to? She knew Victor would come to her aid immediately if she asked, but he was in Bulgaria and had recently mentioned an important training week in the mountains. It would take a few days, maybe a week for her letter to arrive, and Hermione had only three days left until the next term started.

An odd lump seemed to have settled in her throat and quite suddenly, her cheeks felt wet. She had to go back to Hogwarts, she just _had_ to! She didn't know why her parents couldn't understand why it was so important for her to be there. Hermione felt more in her element in that huge castle than in the dull place she was forced to call home. She had found friends there – her first friends. Her first friends, who, at this moment, needed her there. She felt needed there. How was Harry ever supposed to destroy Voldemort without her rationality? He had nerve, but was a bit too reckless for his own good.

And how was Ginny ever going to survive there with two of her friends gone?

The nagging voice she had heard before was now practically screaming at her. She knew she still had a way out, but she also feared the consequences so much that she was almost afraid about thinking about it. So instead, she changed into her pyjamas, threw the blankets over herself and made an attempt to get some sleep.

Two days left. Or, if you thought about it (which she obviously had done, did and would do,) it was only one day, since she was supposed to leave at this time tomorrow. She had considered writing her parents a letter, leaving it on the kitchen table when they weren't looking, and sneaking out and taking the Knight Bus to Grimmauld Place. But she knew that they would never forgive her for it, just as she wouldn't forgive herself for doing such a thing…

_Stop thinking about that!_

Hermione didn't feel like eating breakfast at all (or facing her parents for that matter), so she decided to start on a Potions essay Slughorn would probably assign the third week after the break. With the same false smile she had mastered during the last few weeks at school, she opened her inkbottle and started to write. She would just pretend that everything was normal. And who knew? Perhaps it really would be normal when she stopped pretending.

By the time it struck seven o'clock that evening, Hermione realised that it wouldn't be normal. She had just finished yet another assignment that didn't exist, had thrown two tantrums against the whole wide world (though only her teddy bear witnessed them) and her mother had come up that afternoon, bearing milk and advice, saying again that it was all just for her own sake, just temporarily, and that it wasn't so bad to stay here. "Who knows," her mum had said, walking to the door when she realised that Hermione was refusing to say anything at all, "maybe it'll just be until September." When her mum had closed the door, she had thrown her Defence Against the Dark Arts book so hard against the wall that the cover tore away from the pages.

Her parents didn't understand a thing about it. She realised for the first time in her live that they were Muggles – not parents,_ just_ Muggles.

She had to say it. She had to use the card that would get her out of this jail, as if her life was just a silly game of Monopoly. Not feeling hungry at all, even though she hadn't eaten all day, she descended the stairs when her dad told her dinner was ready. He smiled when he saw her. As if he thought that his daughter had respected his decision and he was glad about it. When she sat down however, she noticed that her mum wasn't so sure. The hand she used to pour gravy over Hermione's potatoes shook a little. Hermione was almost sure her mum had heard the Defence book connecting with the wall.

Taking a first bite of her broccoli, Hermione said in a dangerously calm voice:

"I'm going to Hogwarts."

With a bang her dad's fork and knife fell out of his hands and connected with his plate.

"You will not. I forbid it. Now eat the rest of your meal." He took his fork again, and started to smash his potatoes violently with it.

Hermione looked at her parents for one long second, fearing their reactions.

"The truth is, Dad, that you can't make me stay here anymore." Practically hating herself for doing so, she continued in a small, brittle voice.

"I'm 17 now, and according to Wizarding Law, that makes me an adult. You don't have any authority over me. I am obliged to make my own decisions, and right now, mine is to go back to Hogwarts."

She realised that her parents were suddenly looking very small. Her mum was on the verge of tears and her dad was looking at her as if she had slapped him in the face.

"Harry is the only one who can kill Voldemort and I need to be there, by his side, no matter what the consequences are. Not to be brave, or be heroic – but just to be a friend, to help him in whatever way possible. And I'm sure that he'll need me there in a lot of ways. I'm sorry, but if you lock me in here, I will find a way out. It's probably even safer for all of us if I go back to Hogwarts. That way, you won't get attacked because you have a Muggleborn staying in your home. And I will be around enough safety-spells and powerful wizards to be as safe as a magical person can be at this moment."

She looked again at them. Her mother was crying silently. Her dad looked angry, but pensive. Without realising what she was doing, Hermione stood up, leaving her parents. Once out of view, she breathed out and let the tears that were welling up run free.

If anyone ever asked Hermione Jean Granger about the most difficult thing she'd ever done, the answer wouldn't be brewing a complicated potion or mastering a difficult spell. It would have been having this particular conversation with her parents.

* * *

_Poor parents....poor Hermione...._

_I discovered that one of my loyal reviewers, silverbirch, has also written a story about Hermione and her parents....It's called "my daughter, my story", and after I had read it this last week, I couldn't help but wish that I had read it before so that I could merge some of silverbirch's idea's into this story too... in short: go read it! __My daughter, my story_

_thanks as always to lisa, and the other reviewers as well!_

_If you would like me to read your story, or actually have a comment about this one, please feel free to review! It's only the 59th time that I'm asking for it!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	60. About jealousy and determining

_If I were Jk, I wouldn't be screaming at my computer because Windows Word is failing me, just when I need to finish this paper. I would have enough money to just buy another computer. _

**60. (About jealousy and determining)**

"Please don't lie to me unless you're absolutely sure I'll never find out the truth."

_Ashleigh Brilliant_

The letter in her hand did not make her happy. It didn't make her happy at all. While taking a sip of her pumpkin juice, she furiously shook her head at the same time. Fleur watched her, amused.

"Iz everyzhing all right?"

"No. I got a stupid letter," she replied back harshly. Even though the majority of her terrible mood was because of the letter, at least part of it was Fleur's fault too, as she had talked the ears off Ginny's head about flower arrangements last night and still seemed to think Ginny was a four-year-old, or maybe brainless.

The rest of the people at the breakfast table looked up.

"Well, dear, who is it from?" her mum asked as she reached for the marmalade.

"Hermione." Ginny wasn't too absorbed into the letter to notice that the name she had spoken had caused some nonverbal reactions. Her mum was now cautiously looking at Ron, who suddenly had taken up the Daily Prophet and was making attempts to make everyone believe that he was actually reading, even though his ears had turned red. The twins, who would be leaving that evening, were grinning, while Bill glared at them to keep them from making any witty comments. Harry had looked at her with mild interest, and when he noticed she looked irritated, he gave her an I-told-you-that-she's-denying-the-problem-look, one that he probably had learned from Hermione herself.

"Ooh, isn't zhat zhe brown-haired-girl zhat waz 'ere this summer?"

"Yes, she is," Harry replied in a bit of a dreamy voice. Ginny hated that Fleur even had a bit of an effect on him. But when she looked again up from her letter she noticed that Harry was still looking at her.

"Well, why are you upset about the letter, dear?" her dad asked.

Ginny hesitated. She wanted to make Ron feel at least somewhat responsible for the pain he was obviously causing (even if Hermione was still denying it), but she didn't want to explain everything, the major reason being that the letter hadn't actually told her anything at all.

"Oh, it's just so sad. She's feeling lonely at home." Ron turned a page of the newspaper and suddenly, it hit Ginny that she could make him feel something after all. There was always one thing Ron reacted to very poorly: jealousy.

"But another friend of hers, Viktor, will be coming over for a few days. So I guess there's nothing to worry about."

"Viktor Krum? From the Triwizard Tournament? 'Ow lovely that they keep in touch," Fleur said.

Ginny nodded, but kept looking at Ron, who was now rifling through the paper.

"Are zhey still dating?" Fleur asked. Before Ginny had time to answer, the scraping of a chair was heard and Ron said loudly: "I'll be in my room."

She couldn't resist grinning, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the faintest smile on Harry's lips as well. Maybe making him jealous didn't solve the problem; but at least she had proved that he still cared. And once the holidays were over, Ginny needed to talk very sternly to Hermione. Because this letter was the proof that Hermione had indeed tried to avoid her when needing her help the most. Who else could help Hermione with the stubbornness of a Weasley besides another Weasley?

The night before Harry, Ron and Ginny were supposed to go back to Hogwarts, Ginny overheard a rather peculiar conversation.

"Why are you so obsessed with him, Harry?"

"I'm not obsessed, I just know that he's up to something! Why don't you care enough? He's behind the attack on Katie! I just know it!"

"But…okay, let's just say that he's up to something… How will you prove it? Like I said before, no one will believe Snape's in on it too! They'll just tell you he's really working for the Order and so on, and so on. Just like my dad and Lupin told you last Christmas!"

"I'll tell Dumbledore when I have my next lesson. I mean, he can't deny that Malfoy's up to something; I heard Malfoy say so. He's actually got a plan. Something Voldemort gave him orders to do."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she heard her brother say. From the way he said it, it was clear to Ginny that Harry was boring him to death with the subject.

Suddenly she realised that she had already been standing with her head against Ron's door for nearly a minute, hoping to hear things people wouldn't bother to tell her.

Instantly, she knocked.

"Mum sent me to ask if you both have enough socks and if you already packed your pyjamas, so she doesn't have to send them after you, Ron." Both boys were lying on there beds, tossing a quaffle between them. Ron turned red, but when she looked at Harry to grin at him, she saw to her surprise that he was blushing as well, and hastening to sit upright.

"Yes, I already packed them. When will she let it go? That only happened once in second year." he mumbled.

"And also, dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"Hey, wait!" She turned around at the command and eyed him, surprised.

"What?"

"Thanks a lot for telling the twins about Lavender! They were trying to use some form of perfume on me, essence of puke or something, to see the effects on women around me!"

"Oh, so that's why you smelled so terrible the past few days," she joked. "Sorry, but you earned it after telling them about me and Dean last summer." Somehow, the last three words felt strange in her mouth, as if her tongue wasn't used to pronouncing them correctly.

Harry stayed silent, his head moving as if he was watching a tennis match, but Ginny didn't gave Ron the time to answer and closed the door. She really didn't feel like shouting at him at the moment. She needed to think about what she had just heard.

It was times like these that she hated that Hermione was being so distant at the moment. She would normally ask Hermione about what was going on. Hermione wouldn't answer fully, or tell her every little detail, but Ginny had become rather good at deciphering what was going on. She got that a lot as youngest: nobody would tell her anything interesting, unless she read between the lines, or found out herself.

Did Harry still think that Malfoy was a Death Eater? And that he was behind the attack on Katie? And what did Snape have to do with it all?

As she slowly walked back downstairs, she decided to make a list of all the things she wanted to ask Hermione when they got back to school.

* * *

_sorry for the wrong update yesterday, guys: Like I said in my disclaimer: My computer isn't working properly, so posting was a bit of a stretch there for him. _

_As always, thanks for the many reviews and to Lisa, the editor..._

_I hope you liked the chapter... Since it's the 60th, you could all do me a favour and maybe write a little review! :P_

_I'm not sure if I will be alble to post next week, but I will do everything within my power :)_

_keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	61. About leaving and meeting

_If I were JK, I probably wouldn't have a final in 3 days, about American History...._

**61. (About leaving and meeting)**

"It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."

_Bertrand Russel_

That same evening, Hermione grabbed her belongings, said goodbye to her parents and boarded the Knight Bus. Once everything was said, the house suddenly felt too small for her.

Not sure if Hogwarts would welcome her a day early, and to avoid questions from the teachers, she had asked to be transported to the Leaky Cauldron instead.

The bus was rather empty. They banged through Cornwall while Hermione thought back to the goodbye with which she had left her parents.

Her mum, predictably, had cried, but said that she understood. She had then hugged Hermione, made her promise to at least come back this summer, and still write. In other words: she had accepted Hermione's decision.

Her dad, on the other hand, had been a lot worse. She could still see the look on his face. He hadn't hugged her, or spoken any words of comfort to her, and had just shaken her hand, as if he was being introduced to a complete stranger.

She wiped the tears from her face as she stepped out of the bus and stood ankle-deep in the snow in front of the Leaky Cauldron.

Heaving a deep sigh, she entered.

Just like the Knight Bus, the pub looked rather empty. Tom led her to her room (while looking rather worried to have a Hogwarts student in his establishment without supervision), but after Hermione had dropped her things on the bed, she decided that she was rather hungry, and went downstairs again to get some dinner.

"Hermione?" Hermione looked up from her stew when she heard a familiar voice. "What are you doing here?"

Tonks was sitting at the bar. It could be the light, or Hermione's own tiredness and unhappiness, but she thought Tonks had never looked worse. Her clothes hung around her body as if it was only a sack of bones; she had huge bags underneath her eyes and her skin looked grey-ish. The mouse brown hair was straighter then ever, hanging in what looked like uncombed chunks around her face. If Hermione didn't know better, she would have been sure that she was looking at a homeless person, or at least a junkie. She swallowed her food and decided that replying normally would be the best option.

"Hi Tonks! I'm staying the night here before I'm off to Hogwarts! Shouldn't you be there now, guarding the castle?"

The Auror shook her head. "No, I have another assignment for the holidays. There isn't much to guard with most of the students home for Christmas, is there? I have to be there tomorrow, just like you. But why aren't you with your family or friends?"

Hermione realised that she could ask Tonks the same thing, but refrained. She tried to avoid Tonks's eyes, but this was almost impossible. She should explain herself. Just as long as she acted calm, she could pretend that nothing was going on and that Tonks didn't need to worry, or worse, inform the Weasleys.

"I think just ran away from home."

"What! Why?" Tonks suddenly seemed very alert.

"My parents didn't want me to go back to Hogwarts after I told them what's been happening in the Wizarding World, but since I'm 17, they don't have the authority over me anymore, so I decided to take matters into my own hands."

Her voice, steady as a rock, didn't resemble her eyes, which were open drains again and she fell her cheeks wet for what must've been the umpteenth time that day.

The Auror was suddenly sitting next to her, giving her an enormous hug.

"I've made such a mess of everything, Tonks," she heard herself say, not in a steady voice anymore, but blubbering. "Where am I supposed to go for the holidays? I thought I didn't need them, but I really, really do!"

"We all need someone to lean on, Hermione," the woman hugging her whispered quietly.

"I c-can't go t-to Hogwarts like this! I need t-to know that m-my parents support m-me! B-but with this s-stupid fight I o-only put them in danger! I told them th-things they shouldn't know!"

"What did you tell them exactly? Is it something most wizards don't even know?" Tonks's voice was suddenly very sharp, quiet and business-like. Hermione tried to think back to what she had said exactly: had she endangered the Order and its mission? She knew that she had thought at one point that she couldn't talk further. But had she slipped before that? With all the power in the world, she just couldn't remember anymore.

"I… I don't know exactly … it seems like a blur…" she answered, trying to stop crying.

"Well, then there's only one answer, isn't there?"

Hermione pulled away and looked at her. Tonks tried to smile, but failed. Up close, Hermione could see that her eyes looked watery too.

"We need to modify their memories. Since you told them things they shouldn't know, it's really a matter of national importance."

Hermione could do nothing more than stare. She now understood why Tonks was such a good Auror. The decisiveness in her voice almost made her nod immediately. But that was before her rational mind took over again. Was it really such a good idea? Surely short-term memory loss would help her a lot, but wasn't that a bit too radical? And she knew that according to the Wizengamot Law of 1964, no Muggle could be placed under such a spell without the permission of the Ministry, unless it was an emergency and then the Ministry could condone the spell afterwards. Was this really the only way to sort this mess out?

After Tonks had explained to her that it was now too late in the evening to go back to her house ("Ministry-rules. They didn't give out that purple pamphlet for nothing. As an Auror, I have to set the right example. Besides, it's a miracle you arrived here safely after dark."), and that they would do it tomorrow, Hermione calmed down a bit and the women ordered drinks.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione sniffed, sipping from her hot chocolate. It sounded as if she had a really bad cold after all the crying she'd done.

"Not much. I needed some supplies and was hoping to gain some information," Tonks said. "Why were you with your parents instead of at the Weasleys' for Christmas? Isn't Harry there too?"

"I wanted to spend some time with my parents," Hermione quickly lied. She saw that Tonks eyed her curiously, but fortunately refrained from asking further about the Weasleys. The question had made Hermione realise that besides her parents, there were some more people she was fighting with.

She didn't worry too much about Ginny. The girl would be mad at her, but mostly worried. She was much more concerned about Ron.

Yes, he still made her angry. Yes, it still hurt to see him with Lavender in a tongue-wrestling match. But it felt as if her emotions had numbed after the whole fiasco with McLaggen.

She had thought restlessly about Ron's help that evening. She had tried to see it from all angles, from all points of view.

But when the next morning Ron had still given his girlfriend a passionate kiss goodbye, she had had it. She had sworn in her room at home that she would refuse to feel anything concerning Ron. Yes, she had liked him, but she could never like a boy that would act like this. She would just turn off her emotions. Her mask just had to stay on. More stable, more convincingly. Ignoring the stares and the whispers and the looks. She would block them out, just as the thoughts and rage about Ron himself. From now on, she would only act rationally.

_Just,_ she thought while climbing in the creaky old bed of the Leaky Cauldron, _as I will handle things rationally with my parents tomorrow. _

* * *

_that's all for now.... hope you liked it...._

_it seems now that the entire Universe and some other things are against me using a computer tyhis month, since my laptop just broke, and the library is often full. Don't worry, I still have the story, but it's on a back-up cd. I only have the next three chapters online, so start wishing that within 3 weeks my computer is fixed...._

_Thanks for the many reviews and for the editing done by Lisa...Feel free to leave a review again!_

_Up next: Ginny arrives back to Hogwarts, and is confronted by Dean... :)_

_x-mokmik-x_


	62. About arriving and kissing

_If I were JK, I wouldn't update a day too early... I would update whole books at a time..._

**62. (About arriving and kissing)**

"To solve a problem or to reach a goal, you don't need to know all the answers in advance. But you must have a clear idea of the problem or the goal you want to reach."

_W. Clement Stone_

"Harry! Ginny!"

Ginny turned around and saw Hermione running towards the three of them. By ignoring her brother, Ginny immediately knew that the bushy-haired girl hadn't followed her advise in the letter and made it up with him. Or even told him what her problem was.

"I got back a couple of hours ago, I've just been down to visit Hagrid and Buck - I mean Witherwings," she said breathlessly. "Did you have a good Christmas?"

"Yeah," said Ron at once, "pretty eventful, Rufus Scrim -" But Hermione didn't even glance at him and interrupted.

"I've got something for you, Harry. Oh, hang on - password. Abstinence."

"Precisely," Ginny heard the painting mumble. She saw that Ron's face had fallen.

"What's up with her?" asked Harry, as he looked at the Fat Lady.

"Overindulged over Christmas, apparently," Hermione explained to him. "She and her friend Violet drank their way through all the wine in that picture of drunk monks down by the Charms corridor. Anyway..." Ginny saw her handing over a tiny scroll of parchment to Harry, who looked relieved.

"Great," said Harry, unrolling it at once. "I've got loads to tell him - and you. Let's sit down-"

They all walked over to the nearest couch, but then Ginny heard a high squealing sound and she saw that Lavender had flung herself into Ron's arms.

Ginny observed Hermione's face. She laughed, but at the same time there was a wince near her eye. Ginny really wanted to speak to her, but then she saw from the corner of her eye that her own boyfriend looked disappointed and mad at her, and was climbing through the portrait hole. Apparently, he had expected the same welcome scene Lavender had just given Ron.

"There's a cable over here... coming, Ginny?" Hermione asked, but she shook her head.

"No, thanks, I said I'd meet Dean," she replied, wishing she could postpone a confrontation with him.

She had really wanted to reply back on that letter last Christmas, really. She just didn't find the right words for it and other things kept her busy to think too much about it.

Besides, she didn't want to look like Percy had, back when he'd fancied Penelope Clearwater. Always sitting in his room, writing…

"Dean!" Halfway down the Charms corridor Dean halted and turned around.

"Hi," he replied flatly.

"Hi. Listen, I'm really sorry I didn't write back to your letter. I just…"

A bit lost for words, she didn't finish that sentence.

"You what?" She was a bit shocked by the harshness in Dean's voice.

"I… was so busy that I…"

"You _forgot_? Is that your excuse?"

Something told Ginny that she had really messed it up this time. Dean wasn't only mad: she could that he didn't know what to do any more than she did. It scared her to see that. Dean always knew what to do.

"Ginny, are you sure you want to be with me?" he asked softly.

"Of course I am!"

"Then why don't you reply to my letter? To my apology in that letter? To my invitation before, to spend the Holidays with me?"

She shook her head, but her eyes kept locked with his. Ginny desperately wanted to answer those questions, but most of them she didn't know how to answer, simply because she didn't know herself why she was acting so strangely.

"If you don't want to be my girlfriend anymore, just say it, Ginny. You're confusing me so much. I don't know what to think, or do, or say—"

He was cut off then, as Ginny had flung herself forward and kissed him on the mouth. She felt that Dean was even more startled by this, but accepted it as an answer not long after that. They both stumbled towards the nearest secret passage, still kissing.

Ginny also barely knew where the urge to kiss him suddenly had come from, while they were actually in such a serious conversation. However, she really didn't regret doing it: she had forgotten that Dean was such a good kisser.

However, when she gasped for breath for a moment, still smiling, the stunning thought crept up that this wouldn't solve anything: they still didn't have answers to all those questions.

_Dear Evelyn, _

_This will be a short one, but I promise I won't make a habit out of it!_

_It's nice to hear that your house is finally finished. I'm guessing that it will subdue the tension between you and your mum quite a bit. _

_I've just arrived back at Hogwarts via Floo, since they thought it too risky to come back with the Hogwarts Express. Maybe it's because the Christmas holiday is just over, but more then ever now I have the feeling that you will emerge from behind a corner to hug me and ask me how my holidays were. Since I'm guessing that such thing will not happen in the near future, I'll tell you how my holidays were in this letter. _

_The Minister came by to persuade Harry into becoming a poster boy and he brought Percy along. You can imagine what that did to my mother's nerves. She immediately started hugging him. The rest of us were furious at him for showing his ugly face in our home again. The twins and I got him with mashed parsnips. I know, not very mature, but I have to say that doing it felt really good. _

_Harry's been acting weird during the whole Holiday, though Ron and the others don't seem to notice anything. Is it normal that your best friend doesn't see that you're jumpy and nervous, while his little sister does? Between schoolwork, Quidditch, worrying about my family, writing you and giving attention to my boyfriend, I will have to make some time to figure out what's bothering him… I mean, the world's best DA teacher has to have something interesting on his mind when he's getting nervous…._

_Like I told you the night before the holidays, Dean and I were fighting. I'm not sure if we made up: I didn't reply to the apology he wrote over the holidays, and a few moments ago, when I saw him again, I ended a row by kissing him. I'm kind of wondering where we are now, but since he could do nothing more than smile after we kissed, I'm guessing we're good. _

_Anyway, like I said, I have to keep it short this time. Hope you're doing well with school and give my greetings to your family! _

_Love, _

_Ginny_

* * *

_since I won't have a computer at hands tomorrow, I thought I update a day early. I'm sure you guys won't mind :)_

_Anyway, it's a bit short, and for the Harry-Ginny fans a bit annoying to read that Ginny "made up" with Dean, but I hope you guys like it nonetheless._

_Thanks to Lisa and the reviewers: I'm sorry I haven't replied to the reviews yet, but with a broken computer and some essays due in January, I really have a lot on my mind...keep sending them though, because I_ have_ read them, and some day, I will reply to them!_

_Next up: Hermione tells Ginny about her holiday and her trip back to Hogwarts...._

_x-mokimik-x_


	63. About confronting and crying

If I were JK Rowling, there would be at least 5 ball dresses in my closet.... I wouldn't have bought a super-one during sales....

**63. (About confronting and crying) **

"The shifts of Fortune test the reliability of friends."

_Cicero_

"It's time to spill it all out, Hermione! I won't give you anymore time or space to run away from me again!"

Ginny was angry. Not only because Hermione acted as if nothing had happened and as if she hadn't lied in he last few letters about her physical state, but also at herself, for letting it go this far. How could she ever have thought that giving Hermione some time would have been good? Why hadn't she pressed more on the matter before the holidays? The girl looked like a total wreck, but here she was, rearranging her belongings in her trunk and folding up her clothes as if nothing had happened.

"What?"

"Your letters were all a lie! These past months have all been a lie! You're perfectly fine with Ron and Lavender? Please! How stupid do you think I am to put such a lie in your letter! No one is perfectly fine and happy with those two and you are the least fine with it! What point do you have in denying it?"

Hermione looked at Ginny and for a moment, she was quiet. Then, Hermione said in a soft, but steady voice: "If I admit that I'm not fine with it, I've let him win. I don't want to be that stupid girl whose life is over when a boy doesn't like her back… I mean, I didn't even like him that much…"

Ginny had expected Hermione to answer as though she didn't care, but either Hermione had taken acting classes over the holiday, or she really _did _care less. But if so, why was Hermione still looking so vulnerable?

"But don't you have the urge to throw something at his head at the moment you see him and Lavender?" She thought back to her third year, when Hermione had told her that Harry liked Cho. Hermione was shaking her head.

"It's just… stupid- stupid feelings I have to get over… I can let him go… I can let them all go…"

"Wait… Who's _them_? I thought this was just about Ron?"

Hermione looked up and opened her mouth to say something. Ginny saw by the look in her eyes that there was something else. Something that hadn't been there before Christmas. As if her pain about Ron had been shoved aside to make room for something else…confusion? Panic? More pain?

Before Hermione could explain, or Ginny could ask, the dorm room opened.

"…Wonder where he is. I was so happy to see him yesterday that I haven't thanked him for the _fabulous_ gift he…oh! Hi Hermione. Hi Ginny!"

Ginny admired Lavender for a second: it was a true gift to say the first name so coldly and right after that manage to be so friendly with the second one.

"Hi Lavender," she replied. Hermione didn't say anything, and Ginny couldn't blame her.

"How was your holiday?" Lavender asked, completely ignoring Hermione.

"It was nice, thanks." She glanced at Hermione, who had turned around to fold her clothes up again.

"I heard Ron invited _some_ of his friends over," Lavender continued, now looking meaningfully at Hermione's back. Ginny really wished she knew a way to get rid of Lavender's unwanted presence that didn't involve bats. Though it wasn't as if using the spell on her would make her more ugly, come to think of it. She decided that ignoring the jab at her friend would be the best way to handle things.

"Oh, you mean Harry? Well, nothing new there. He always comes around to visit during the holidays."

"Hm.... did Won-Won—" Ginny swallowed hard, not knowing if she wanted to laugh or vomit- "tell you he invited me too?"

Behind her, Ginny noticed that Hermione had dropped a few socks.

"Yeah," Lavender continued, as if someone had replied. "But my parents wanted me to come home. It's a shame, though: I mean, I don't know you that well, while we're practically family! Christmas would have been the perfect opportunity to get to know your family, don't you think?"

Ginny had lost the ability to speak, and was only nodding, still with her mouth open.

"Anyway, I was just telling Parvati about the _marvellous_ earrings Ron gave me for Christmas. Look—"

She pushed her hair behind her ears and Ginny stared at the small blue rings, one on each ear, framing Lavender's face. She knew those earrings…where had she seen them before? Maybe Ron had nicked them from their mother?

"They're clip-ons, though.... I wonder if Won-Won didn't know that I have pierced ears," she added as an afterthought, and for a moment, her smile vanished. However, it made a quick reappearance, and Lavender continued:

"Have you seen him? I want to know what he thought about the gift I gave him. We haven't discussed that yet." She wagged her eyebrows suggestively, as if Ginny didn't know what they had been doing instead. The whole common room had been witness to it.

"He's getting his homework out of his dormitory to start on it. I guess he should be in the common room any minute now," she replied, thankful for an opportunity to let the girl leave.

"Ooh, thanks! Let's go wait for him, Parvati, so we can do our homework together!" Parvati didn't look too happy with that suggestion, but before she could say anything, Lavender had grabbed her hand, thanked Ginny, and dragged her best friend out of the room.

"I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth."

Hermione smiled sadly. "You'll get used to it."

Before Ginny could stop herself, she started to rage. "I swear, if that girl ever becomes my sister in law, I will kill Ron personally! His taste in women is even worse than Bill's! Hermione, how can you be fine when your best friend is going out with _that_? How can you even live in the same room without trying to kill her while she sleeps?"

"I often put a silencing charm around my bed," Hermione replied. Ginny noticed that the tone in her voice had changed to a happier one. There was even a smile playing around her lips.

A silence fell. Ginny kept looking at Hermione while she folded up her socks. There was something else...Ginny really wanted to know what was bothering Hermione, but also knew that if she pressed on, Hermione might not say anything, and probably wouldn't for a very long time.

Suddenly, without any warning, Hermione sat down on her bed and silently started to cry.

"Hermione!" Ginny sat next to her. "Listen, I can't help you if you won't tell me what's bothering you."

But when Hermione had given her an explanation, Ginny wished she had never asked for the truth. It was as if she had a déjà vu moment:

"I told my parents over Christmas about the situation in the Wizarding World," Hermione told her softly, still with tears dripping out of her eyes. "They've forbidden me to go to Hogwarts anymore…"

* * *

_duhduhduuuhh... okay, well, not really, since we all know what happened next after Hermione's parents had forbid her to reenter Hogwarts again.... but still... it's a pretty hard shock for Ginny..._

_Sorry, the chapter isn't any longer... hope it does make your (holi)day(s) a bit better though...._

_As always, thanks to Lisa, and the reviews I got for the previous chapter... I'm a bit later with replying than normal, but that's because my own computer still doesn't work... and besides that, I have this totally crazy scedule... even in the Holidays, I'm busy..._

_Anyway, I hope everyone has a nice New Year's Eve.... see you in 2009, though I might still reply on your review in 2008 if you push that button below, right now!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	64. About explaining and swearing

_Believe it or not, I'm back! With my computer fixed, my finals done and my workload a little bit less heavier, it is time to continue this story! Aren't you happy? Well, I know I am. _

_Disclaimer: If I were JK, people wouldn't send me hate-mails to upload my story. They would just assasinate me for real. _

**64****. (About explaining and swearing)**

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."

_Aristotle_

"Wh-what? But how come you're still here? When do you have to leave? Why didn't you write me about it?" The questions were stumbling over each other.

"Because I'm 17. According to Wizarding Law, I can make my own decisions. That's also the reason why I only told them this year. I was so afraid they would keep me home! And then I ran and I b-bumped into T-Tonks and Dumbledore gave me th-these orders and I-I…" overwhelmed by panic, Hermione started to stutter.

Hermione looked so desperate that Ginny grabbed the glass of water that was standing on Hermione's nightstand, and forced Hermione to relax.

"Drink up and calm down…. That's it…. Now, start from the beginning."

Hermione sighed one more time and then talked, whipping the tears from her face.

"When you wrote me that letter, you were completely right about everything. But I couldn't do anything you told me to do at that moment, except telling my parents about the situation. So I did."

"And?"

And Hermione continued. About their reaction. About how she hadn't wanted to use the 17-year-treath but how they had left her to no choice. About how she had packed her trunk and went to the Leaky Cauldron. About how she had met Tonks. And about Tonks solution.

"The next morning we took off to my home, but when we arrived at the doorstep, Tonks suddenly got a message of one of the Order members, in the form of a Patronus. Come to think of it, It must have been from Dumbledore, because it was a Phoenix. Tonks said that Dumbledore wanted to speak to me immediately after we would be done with my parents."

"When we entered, they were both asleep. Tonks said that it would be easier this way. She performed the spell and then we left."

"So now your parents don't know that you had a fight with them about this? What's the problem with that?"

"Ginny, don't you understand? Even though I told them everything, and I disappointed them the most by lying all those years, I had to put up another lie, a magical one, to prevent them from knowing! They looked so… empty after Tonks was done…. For a moment, it looked as if I was looking at their bodies, as if there was no life left in them anymore.."

Ginny's eyes became wide. "You think Tonks failed and made a mistake?"

"No. She said it was part of the spell and that it would ware off. Then, we left. Ginny, I'm not sure if I can really explain it properly, but I feel so guilty. I'm putting my parents under a spell to be here and live in peace with them at the same time! But how can I be able to do that, knowing that I had to erase a part of their memory?"

Ginny understood. It was kind of harsh to put your parents under a spell. As if you were playing the game of child and parent, but you were cheating very cruelly.

"And then you went to Dumbledore? What did he say?"

"He…He only left me more confused."

"What do you mean?"

"I side-Along Apparated to Hogsmeade, where Tonks said goodbye. Then I walked up to the castle, and to Dumbledore's study. He told me that he had thought something like this would happen. That's why Tonks had been around my house all holiday to watch me. Instead of… I don't know… explaining to me and how he knew about my problems with my parents, he started to explain the movement and spell power of the spell Tonks had used. And then he gave me a note with some titles of books that might be useful to read, too, and which I should find in Hogwarts before I would be graduating next year."

For one short moment, Ginny was considering the odds that Hermione was making this all up. It couldn't get any more weird.

"What do you mean?"

"He said, that I "might need to know the books it's contents in the future": When I asked about my parents again, he told me that Tonks had, on his request, only modified a little bit of their memories, but there might come a time when I myself would have to modify a lot."

Okay, so actually it could be even more weird.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't explain that to me! He said it would become clear to me when the time was ready."

"What's that supposed to be for an answer?"

"He then said that if I needed anything, I could always find it in his office."

"Huh? And then?"

"Well, when I wanted to ask more, or at least find some consolation for the fact that my parents were bewitched and I might have to do it again, he only gave me a … a note, for Harry, and dismissed me."

"What kind of note did he give you for Harry?"

"Something that's between Harry and Dumbledore," Hermione answered. When Ginny tried to stare her down to get something more, Hermione shook her head sadly.

"Sorry, I really can't tell you. Sworn to Harry that I wouldn't. Besides, it's best if you don't know."

"Well, I think that's not your decision to make, what's best for me and what isn't," Ginny replied testily. It bugged her endlessly that even though she almost spend every summer with the trio together, they still had to hide some secrets from her. Probably also for the rest of the world, but still. They should know by now that she could be trusted. She actually wanted to end this conversation, but when she saw Hermione's confused face, her anger melted. For a bookworm like her friend, not understanding something was probably a living hell.

"Look Hermione, you've got to pick yourself up and think rationally. Maybe Dumbledore's right: Maybe it will become clear in the future. We just have to trust him. Tomorrow, after our lessons, I will go with you to the library and help you search those books and study the contents. Maybe the contents of the books will clear the mystery up. And even if it doesn't, I'm sure it will have a reason, though we might not see it at first. Just take it step by step and not all at once."

"Thanks Ginny."

"For you, always Hermione." She smiled reassuringly at the brown-haired girl and to her surprise, she got a watery smile back.

After a short thinking-pause, Ginny asked:

"Have you told Harry this? Maybe he knows what Dumbledore means."

"No, but I'm not planning to do so either."

"What? Why not?"

"Because then I have to tell him what has happened the last few days to me."

"You haven't even told him that? Hermione-"

"He really has enough to think about already. He has to stay focused. And I'm sure that if I would tell him, he would somehow manage to feel guilty about it, as if it is his fault."

Ginny opened her mouth, but Hermione's voice suddenly got the old bossy-ness back and interrupted her before she even could start. "No, really Ginny, he has enough on his mind. Trust me."

"Is that why he was acting so weird during the Holidays?"

"I don't think he's acting weird because of all the... uhm… information he and Dumbledore share."

"No, really, he was acting very jumpy and odd during Christmas."

"Well, I will see if I notice it too. But promise me you won't tell him about my problems, Ginny."

"I promise," she heard herself say, but also knew in the back of her mind that with that vow she hadn't sworn to tell it to anyone else...

* * *

_Okay, That's it for today! I have a huge apology to make since I've been so long away, but with the stress from my finals and my computer breaking and crewing 6 times a week, it was a little bit too much to actually update regulary. Hope you guys understand... sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry_

_However, that doesn't give some people the right to "demand" reviews by simply casplocking "UPDATE!!!" to me. It doesn't give me the right motivation to actually update. Remember that for a next time, or for other writers, since I have the idea that I'm not the only one who doesn't like that..._

_The normal reviews are still welcome :)_

_Also, another announcement: my beta is in England for this semester. If you like to be my substitute-beta, please let me know in the reviews! I usually send 4 chapters at once via mail, and the sooner I get thm back, the sooner I can update... :) Please also let me know how old you are. Not that I don't believe that you can't spell when you're 12, (you can probably do it better than me) but I like to have someone who is about the same age, which is 19 :)_

_next up: (and yes, that will be next monday. Not sooner, but not later either:)) Hermione and Ginny try to find some of Dumbledore's books, while Harry has to collect a memory...._

_keep reading and leave a review!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	65. About reading and searching

_If I were JK, I wouldn't need a beta. I would have editors, who would've gone to college to perform miracles with written text. And if I were JK I probably also would be much better in English, since it was my native language..._

**65.(About reading and searching)**

"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it."

_Marcus Aurelius_

"So now he's giving me the assignment to figure out what Slughorn is so desperately concealing," Harry finished. He had just told Hermione during their morning break what he had learned the previous night from Dumbledore. For a moment, Hermione was silent, pondering over what Harry had said.

"He must be determined to hide what really happened if Dumbledore couldn't get it out of him," she finally said. "Horcruxes ... Horcruxes ... I've never even heard of them ..."

"You haven't?" she heard that Harry was honestly surprised about that.

"They must be really advanced Dark magic, or why would Voldemort have wanted to know about them? I think it's going to be difficult to get the information, Harry, you'll have to be very careful about how you approach Slughorn, think out a strategy ..."

"Ron reckons I should just hang back after Potions this afternoon ..."

She flared up immediately. _Sure, Ron always had been the subtle one of your friends….that's why he's publicy snogging out someone's brains without even considering my feelings…_

"Oh, well, if Won-Won thinks that, you'd better do it. After all, when has Won-Won's judgement ever been faulty?"

She saw that Harry was looking at her pleadingly. "Hermione, can't you –"

"No!" she said determined and stormed away before she would let her mask fall. Just a moment ago, she had felt needed again, like she'd always felt with Ron and Harry before that stupid Prince-book and her fight with Ron. And apparently, that book had also affected Harry's judgement: since when did he value Ron's opinion more than hers?

She knew that most of what she was thinking at the moment came from the green monster inside of her that had gained power after seeing Lavenders earrings, but Hermione knew that there was a truth behind her opinion. Even though Harry and Ron were both blinded with awe of that potion-book, Hermione was sure that it was dangerous. And she was going to make Ron and Harry see that.

"So you haven't noticed anything today about him?" Ginny asked that evening as they were sitting in the library to look up the titles Dumbledore had given Hermione a few days earlier.

"No, I noticed nothing."

"But he was acting all weird during the Holidays…. Nervous, and jumpy…"

"Ginny, why are you so obsessed with Harry? I thought you were over him!" she whispered teasingly.

"I am!" and after receiving a deathly glare for talking so loud in the library from madam Pince, Ginny continued in a whisper; "I am! But I'm not blind or crazy: He _was_ acting weird!" "Maybe it's got something to do with that potionbook of his…" Hemione said absentminded. Ginny eyed her skeptically, but Hermione ignored her. She knew that Ginny wasn't agreeing with her, but that book was pure evil.

"Anyway- what is all this?" the Weasley said, changing the subject.

She pointed at all the books that were lying around them.

"I suppose Dumbledore thought that I couldn't live without the _"Helpful Healers Handbook"_ or the-" she picked up another heavy book- "_Usefull unreadable magic and their undoables_".

"Always wanted to have that one lying on my bed stand," Ginny replied, just as sarcastic. "Anyway, what are you going to do now? This doesn't make it more clear what Dumbledore wants from you."

"I'm going to read the books one by one and after I'm done with that and it still isn't clear, I suppose I will ask him," Hermione stated simply. She felt a lot more confident since her break-down in front of Ginny yesterday. Now that she saw the actual books, it somehow made the assignment Dumbledore had given her more logic, more reasonable. She had always been the know-it-all. Reading books was her thing.

"You're really going to read all this? The man gave you-" Ginny grabbed the list with titles and counted- "43 titles!" When Hermione shrugged, she continued, "Well, rather you than me," and took some homework out of her bag while Hermione walked over to the desk of madam Pince to borrow the first 5 books that were on the list. The librarian gave her the same stern stare that she gave every student who came to borrow her precious books. Hermione had befriending madam Pince given up a long time ago.

"Oh, and I also have an assignment from professor Slughorn for which I need to search the forbidden section," she added when she had taken the books back from the librarian. Madame Pince quirked her eyebrow and examined her now even more thoroughly. Hermione stared back determinately. Even though she was still mad at Harry (especially after what he had done during potions with the bezoar,) 'Horcrux' was clearly an important term that needed to be figured out.

"I'm a 6th year prefect." She said when she saw how Madame Pince opened her mouth for her usual request for a personal note from Slughorn. If she were correctly, her status would give her permission.

"You know your way. Please put the books back where you've found them," was the grumpy regular answer, and without waiting longer, Hermione walked over to the section.

"Hermione, where are you?" she heard the voice of Ginny call. Glancing at her watch, she realized that she had been here for over more than an hour, but still hadn't found a clue, not even a word, about 'Horcrux'.

"Coming!" she replied and put "_Medieval Magic at its most evilist_" back on its shelf.

"What were you doing that took you so long?" the red-head asked. "I thought you only wanted to borrow those books."

"I also had to look something up."

"What?" Ginny asked.

"A term," she replied, avoiding.

"Which term?"

"You wouldn't have heard of it," Hermione said hastily.

Ginny eyed her grumpily. "Try me."

"All right. I have to find the meaning of the word 'Horcrux'." Hermione had hoped that Ginny's attention would decline, but Ron's sister only looked more interested.

"I haven't heard of it. Why do you have to look it up?"

"It's got something to do with Harry and his lessons from Dumbledore."

"What? Just a few seconds after I discuss Harry's odd behavior you are going to look something weird for him up in the forbidden section and you're refusing me to tell why?"

Hermione saw that the mere thought of not knowing something made Ginny furious, but she shook her head.

"Look Ginny, I've told you a million times before: I just can't tell you what is going on. You have to trust me if I say that this 'odd behavior' has nothing to do with Dumbledore's lessons."

"How can you be sure when you don't even notice the weird behavior of Harry yourself?" Ginny shook her head in anger, grabbed her bag from the table, and without saying anything further, she walked out of the room.

Hermione shook her head again. She really didn't understand Ginny sometimes. Why would she make such a big deal out of not knowing something? After that thought, she felt herself blush. It was only yesterday that she had cried in front of Ginny, complexly panicked because she didn't understand Dumbledore, because she _didn't know_ what had been the point. She grabbed her book bag and wanted to run after Ginny, but the girl was nowhere to be seen anymore. Hermione shook her head. She would make up with Ginny tonight in the commonroom. That gave her an excuse to stay away from Harry and his book. Then, another question popped up, making her feel even guiltier for not understanding Ginny's behavior a few moments ago: Was Ginny's anger perhaps comparable with the anger she felt towards Harry's Potion book, for making her feel left out?

* * *

_There I am again! Perfectly on time :) Thanks for all the lovely reviews and offerings to be my beta... I still haven't decided, mainly because I don't had much time... I hope I can make a decision upcoming week..._

_This also means that this chapter isn't beta-ed... I have read it several times myself, but as you probably know: It's pretty hard to discover your own faults after you have read the text a few times.... Which is also why I didn't discover the "Feniks" word in the last chapter... to clarify: Feniks is the Dutch word for Phoenix... I mingled my Dutch knowledge of the books with my English writing... sorry!_

_This chapter is also kind of slow... not much is happening, except more frustration about the same old subjects (Ron, potionbook, Harry and a bit of Dumbledore's assignment). I can already tell you that the next chapter will also be kind of slow-ish, and that chapter 67 will be a scene from the books, but please stay tuned, because chapter 68 will be worth the wait! :)_

_Leave a review and keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	66. About writing and irritating

_If I were JK, I wouldn't have a dayplanner which totally fails. I would have a small army of secretaries who would create order out of chaos..._

**66. (About writing and irritating)**

"The intoxication of anger, like that of a grape, shows us to others, but hides us from ourselves."

_John Dryden_

_Dear Ginny,_

_First of all: don't worry about the length of the other letter. Every sign of life from you is great, since I barely stay sane here without it… _

_We moved into our renovated house a week ago. When the construction-builders had left, my dad immediately used a lot of spells to improve the house and make it safer. I hope it will actually work. Since we're not living with my grandma anymore, I won't have to follow Muggle-classes at that horrid school, thank Merlin! However, my parents both agreed that they didn't want to see me using all my time studying for Hogwarts, so they wanted me to get a job. I was so glad not to have to go to that school anymore that I agreed and now I'm stocking shelves at the local supermarket every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening. It's boring and annoying work, but I think I've finally made some Muggle friends. Not that I can discuss much with them of course, since half my life is a secret, but still: Elle is nice and makes a lot of jokes during work time. Don't feel replaced! You are still my best and only possessed-by-a-diary friend. This makes you much more interesting than a Muggle, or any other wizard for that matter. Besides, you have a family that's totally awesome! Fred and George keep sending me prototypes of their newest inventions! Mark my words: the magical fart cushion that will shoot you five feet in the air will be a hit! They only have to name it better: 'fart-blow' doesn't sound catchy enough. _

_I'm now officially behind with my Hogwarts work... McGonagall sent me all the tests that I took in December and I failed everything. I'm not really bothered by it, though. I mean, it was kind of predictable, wasn't it? You just can't learn magic by only reading about it. That's exactly why most of us hated Umbridge last year. That, and the fact that her pink clothes made you want to vomit. _

_It sounds really funny, the way you've thrown Percy out of the house! But how did your mum react to that? And what exactly was the outcome of the talk Harry had with the Minister? Okay, wait- forget that last question: since you swooned over the boy for more than two years, I think I know enough about Harry through you to know his answer. He didn't want to be the poster-boy, right?_

_Are you sure he's acting weird and he's not just a bit more nervous since the war? Please keep me updated if you know more! _

_I do not understand what the status is with you and Dean. Do you still like him? He's obviously crazy about you, but you kind of have to like him back to continue this, Ginny. Are you really sure that the pros outweigh the cons? Well, that's up to you, I suppose. Just keep me updated on that too. _

_I talked to my parents last night, about the war. My dad knows that it will take a lot of time before there is a chance of me going back to Hogwarts. However, he finds it necessary to fool me and he keeps saying that I can probably come back for the next term in September. I just felt myself nod, while he looked away and couldn't even look me in the eyes. If that's what it takes to keep them happy, I think I will just keep the charade up. I know that I won't go to Hogwarts soon but, somewhere in the back of my mind, there is that little voice that keeps hoping that I will finish my education. Maybe not next year, or maybe not even for another five, but I refuse to become a Muggle, now that I've tasted what it's like to be a Witch. _

_My mum and I seem to get along better. She's still really protective. The other day she came by the supermarket just to check if I was still there when she had heard on the Wireless that there had been sightings of Dementors twenty five miles from here. Now I've been living with them, I seem to understand their worries more. Not that I will forgive them for taking me out of Hogwarts, away from my friends, but at least I understand why they did it. _

_Anyway, before this letter will get even more depressing, I will make an end to it. _

_Your letters are one of the things that keep me sane here, Ginny. Please keep writing to me as regularly as you are doing now!_

_Love,_

_Evelyn_

Ginny sighed. The letter did indeed sound a bit depressing. She could barely imagine how Evelyn kept holding on. She read the part about Harry again and shook her head. Things had only gotten worse after she had written this letter. He kept turning red, acting jumpy...not that anyone but her noticed of course. Hermione was still sceptical. Ginny had apologized to Hermione for being so sensitive the other night and Hermione had accepted, of course, but they had both felt that things weren't quite as forgotten as they both had wanted them to be. Hermione refusing to see that her friend was acting weird was part of that problem.

But as for Dean, things seemed to be back to normal. She really did like Dean, unlike what Evelyn stated. Maybe the problem had been herself: she might have taken all the tension of the war and her worries for Hermione and Evelyn out on Dean.

"Dean, what did I just say? Focus!" Harry bellowed causing Ginny to tear her eyes from her own Quaffle for just a moment to look at Dean.

The whole Quidditch team was training individually and, right now, the Chasers were supposed to look at their aim. Dean, however, had difficulties.

"You are not even trying to throw it through the hoops, you are just trying to throw it!" she heard Harry say to him. That comment actually made her stop in her own tracks.

For all the months they had been training under Harry, he had always been constructive in his criticisms. That was not the case this time. She saw that Ron was also looking oddly at his friend and, somewhere in her stomach, Ginny felt a lurch of triumph that she wasn't the only one who had noticed Harry's weird behaviour this time.

"I'm going to fly to the others and I want the number of scores to be on at least thirty more when I get back!" She saw that he flew over in her direction and pretended that she hadn't stared at both of them.

"You're doing really well," was the only thing he had to say to her, when he saw that the number of goals (as displayed by the counting devise hanging next to the hoops) was already on one hundred and four.

"What was wrong with Harry this evening? Why didn't you argue back Dean? It was really low of him to tell you that you weren't even trying!"

"Maybe he's just having a bad day and he has to take it out on someone," Dean reasoned, though Ginny could see that he actually enjoyed her ranting.

"Hi Ginny, hi Dean," Neville welcomed them when they arrived back into the common room. "How was practise?"

"Harry was in a foul mood," Ginny replied, as if that explained it all. Neville nodded understandingly, but then focused on why he came over.

"Listen, I have a Transfiguration paper due in a few days and it's taking me longer than I expected. Would you mind if I don't help you with Herbology this week? That would really save me some time. I promise I'll make it up to you by helping you extra after the essay."

"You don't have to make it up extra! I'm already glad that you would help me at all, but I don't mind one week without extra Herbology-lessons. Besides, I think Sprout is going to continue to talk about the lovage this week, and you already explained a lot about that last Monday."

"Okay, great. Well, I suppose I have to get back to that essay then," Neville sighed and he walked back to his table in the common room, which was covered with charts, parchment and large books.

"Have you already started with that Transfiguration essay?" Ginny asked Dean, while looking at how Neville sighed and scratched something with his quill.

"Yes, but we all have different subjects to write about. Mine was a lot easier than Neville's."

They also sat down and Ginny grabbed a book from her bag she still had to read for Muggle Studies.

"I didn't know you still studied with Neville," Dean suddenly said after a silence.

"Oh, yeah, he's great at Herbology."

"Hmm," came the cold remark and Dean also grabbed a book from his bag and started reading it. His movements expressed that he was not happy with her reply.

"What's wrong with that? I thought you liked Neville?"

"There's nothing wrong with me," he snapped back and he hid his face behind his book.

Ginny shook her head. Dean was probably still mad due to being yelled at by Harry. However, that couldn't prevent Ginny from thinking that boys were really weird lately. HarryHH

* * *

_hmm... a long chapter, but pretty uneventful...I guess you could argue that there actually happens a lot, but it's more of the same old stuff... don't worry though: Action will happen when you least expect it... :)_

_Thanks for all the reviews, sorry I still haven't replied to some of them: I have been a bit busy lately... Which is also the reason why I haven't had time to send this to my new beta: Don't worry though: I will contact her as soon as I posted this chapter and then you can all stop crying over my bad spelling when the next chapter arrives:P_

_Next up: Hermione's first Apparation lesson... which is actually a bit boring, but I think it needs to be mentioned..._

_A review about this chapter wouldn't hurt...:)_

_keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	67. About apparating and worrying

_If I were JK, a stupid thing wouldn´t hold me back from posting. In fact, I think people would actually change the internet so that JK could upload more easily...._

**67. (About apparating and worrying)**

"Don't hold to anger, hurt or pain. They steal your energy and keep you from love."

Anonymous

Slowly, January passed over into February and Hermione wondered since when she had become so busy.

Besides the usual homework she always did in the library to avoid Ron, she now also had the name "Prince" to look up there, as well as the books Dumbledore had given her. After having the panic attack several weeks ago, she was now quite calm about the fact that her Headmaster had given her a cryptic assignment and that her parents weren't remembering their fatal Christmas row. Hermione found it easier to push it out of her mind while they were not around. She simply had no time to worry about it. Besides the Prince, the Dumbledore-books and the homework, there was also the case of the word "Horcrux". After she had informed Harry that she had only found one reference to it, her research hadn't stopped.

She felt that it was her way of helping Harry; she couldn't help him with persuading Slughorn, but searching for a word was her thing and it had never given her problems before. In the spare time that was left after all these activities, she also taught some of the younger students whilst Harry, Ron and Ginny were busy with Quidditch. To Hermione's delight, they actually made a lot of progress under her helping hand. Even though it didn't have the same cosiness, it did remind her a lot about the times when she was looking over some of the homework Harry and Ron had done...

Hermione finally seemed to be over Ron. Lavender was still an annoying tart, Ron still made her want to hurl things at his head but, somehow, things were brought into perspective by the fact that much graver things were happening around them. And besides, since she was so busy she didn't give herself much time to think about Ron, just like she did with her parents.

They had come up with a simple solution to the rule that they had to patrol together. Cameron had never said that they actually had to patrol side-by-side, so every night they had prefect duties they walked together out of the common room, patrolled individually, sometimes crossing each other while walking through the castle, and then met at the appropriate time near the Fat Lady. It had become a sort of unspoken agreement.

Hermione had noticed that Ron sometimes glanced at her or opened his mouth as if he had wanted to speak to her, but he never did, and always quickly looked away after being caught on such a moment. She was more than happy that their contest of hurting each other had ended. It had been that contest, she realised, that had made it impossible for her to live a normal Hogwarts life without Ron. She noticed how Harry was, at times, quite annoyed that his best friends weren't speaking to each other but, since he barely mentioned their row, he probably thought that he shouldn't meddle in it. Hermione was worried about Harry, and not only because of the task the prophecy had given him or the fact that Ginny kept by her statement that he was acting "odd". She was also a little scared by the growing obsession Harry now seemed to have with Malfoy and their first Apparition lesson proved that Hermione had every right to be worried.

They had come down together to the Great Hall. Harry was babbling on about some stupid move Dean had made the night before on the Quidditch field and Hermione listened only half-heartedly as she usually did when Harry talked about Quidditch. She was excited to learn how to Apparate. It was supposed to be really hard at first but it would be great to be able to just appear anywhere at will without another magical devise.

The Heads of House had gathered in the front of the Hall and Hermione saw Wilkie Twycross standing next to them. He was the author of one of the books she had read about Apparation and was a master of appearing at will. She just wanted to tell Harry who the person was since his expression was blank but then Sprout stepped forward.

"Quiet please!" Sprout asked, and the murmuring subdued enough to hear Mr. Twycross speak.

"Good morning. My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry-Apparition Instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition test in this time -"

"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" Professor McGonagall suddenly demanded. Hermione felt Harry turning almost 180 degrees next to her to see Malfoy standing at the back of the Hall now suddenly caught after talking to Crabbe.

"- by which time, many of you may be ready to take your test," Twycross continued.

"As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The Headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try."

"I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

All the sixth years were now suddenly moving, trying to get enough space around them so they could practice. Hermione turned around to ask Harry if he saw a less crowded spot but noticed that he was already walking away without her.

"Harry, where are you going?"

But Harry did not answer and disappeared behind a few Ravenclaws who were coming up to the front of the Hall.

Hermione decided that she would have to find a spot of her own and moved to the left so that she had a clear view of Mr. Twycross.

When the noise and moving subdued in the Hall, she looked around and saw that Harry was now standing right behind Malfoy listening in as Malfoy continued to talk to Crabbe.

She couldn't help but let out a groan. Was he really thinking of spying on Malfoy during their first Apparation class? Sure, the boy was up to something, but she found it hard to believe he would blab about it in public. Besides, this was an important class!

The problem was that she couldn't persuade Harry to forget about Malfoy like she had done in the past. It had to do with Ron: as long as she and Ron formed a front against Harry, they could usually talk him out of something. This time though, she couldn't talk to Ron about Harry and was sure that Ron got carried away by Harry's theory without her.

"Quiet!" silence fell in the Hall and everyone focused back on Twycross.

"Thank you," said Twycross. "Now then…"

Wooden hoops that reminded her of her Muggle gym classes in primary school appeared in front of every student.

"The important things to remember when Apparating are the three Ds! Destination, Determination, Deliberation!"

She nodded; the book she'd read had told her. "Step one: fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination, in this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

She stared at her hoop but still thought about Harry and Ron. Maybe she could try and talk to Ron about Harry during the next patrol duty.

"Step two," she heard Twycross saying, "focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!"

Her eyes still saw the hoop and she really tried for a moment to have a longing to enter the space inside the hoop but that thought left her head quickly when she imagined how awkward it would be to talk to Ron again. He would probably just see it as a victory over her stubbornness if she tried to make conversation again, even if it was about Harry. Even though she had thought otherwise, maybe they were still trying to hurt each other but this time by not speaking…

"Step three, and only when I give the command ... turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation."

What would Ron's reaction be?

"On my command, now...one-"

He might just laugh at her.

"Two-"

Or maybe walk away, not even wanting to hear what she had to say after she kissed McLaggen on the cheek in front of him.

"-THREE!"

Nothing happened. The Hall was full of staggering people but Hermione hadn't moved an inch. She didn't have to think hard why that could be. Her mind was simply too full.

She tried for over an hour to push the thought of Harry and Ron and Malfoy's plans out of her head but didn't succeed and was frustrated by it. When Twycross had Dissapparated, she walked over to Harry but saw that Ron was there first so she tailed behind.

"How did you do?" asked Ron, hurrying towards Harry. "I think I felt something the last time I tried - a kind of tingling in my feet."

She simply couldn't resist. Because of him, she hadn't even tried with all her heart to learn to Apparate and there he was, claiming he had "felt something". If he had really "felt something" inside himself he wouldn't have hurt her feelings by kissing Lavender and she wouldn't be distracted today and would have learned how to Apparate. She had been right: Ron was still trying to hurt her. Since a long time, Hermione put her mask off and heard herself say: "I expect your trainers are too small, Won-Won," and she smirked, while looking how Ron turned red. (This last part doesn't really make sense. You could change it to - Well two could play at that game. "I expect your trainers are too small, Won-Won," she heard herself say. She smirked when she realised that Ron had turned red.)

* * *

_What, is that possible? No spelling and grammar mistakes? Yes it's true, people! loveisthegreatestmagic is the new beta and after a few chapters trying to edit my own text and still getting reviews about how badly the spelling was, I can appricate and love beta's even more now!_

_Anyway, I updated a bit too late... however, entirely not my fault, since I couldn't log in this week, due to a "short" technical problem. However, look at it from the bright side: Only 4 days until I'll update again! And my new beta as well as myself can assure you that chapter 68 is worth it... MUAHAHHAHAH... okay, sorry... I'm a bit sugar-high at the moment..._

_Hope you guys like this chapter now it's posted... I know, a lot is directly from the books, but I just had to put the "I expect your trainers are too small, Won-Won"-part in, since that was, besides the bird-scene, Hermione's best kick-ass scene in HBP:-) Leave a review if you like, and else, I'll see you in 4 days again!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	68. About loving and discovering

_If I were JK, I wouldn't be stupid enough to post an un-edited version of my chapter and then boast about how I got a new beta... I would have enough people around me and concerned with my work and preventing me from stupidity._

**6****8. (About loving and discovering) (and rhyming)**

"Valentines Day is a masochistic holiday. If you're in a relationship, then this is the one day you're supposed to say 'I love you', and send gifts to ensure that it means more than the other 364 days of the year; and if you're single, you feel miserable."

_Unknown_

"Happy Valentines Day, Gin," Dean proclaimed as he walked over where Hermione and Ginny were eating. He gave her a kiss on the lips and sat next to them.

"You too, Dean," Ginny answered. "Are you finally able to tell me what the big surprise for this evening is?"

Dean glanced nervously up at Hermione and she knew in a second that Dean was planning something against the rules and didn't want her to hear.

"Erm… not quite," he said slowly. Ginny pretended to pout.

"But I did make you some lovely pancakes," he quickly added whilst pulling a plate covered in tinfoil out of his bag.

Hermione couldn't contain herself from sighing. Not because the gesture was really romantic but because Dean hadn't made those warm pancakes by himself. He had just snatched some out of the kitchen, ordering the house-elves to cook something up. In fact, the same pancakes stood a few yards away from them on the table. However, Ginny didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, how sweet! You really didn't have to, Dean. I thought we wouldn't make a big deal out of this holiday."

"Well, don't you think they're nice?"

"Hmm…. And really good," Ginny said with her mouth full. The girl shot a glance at Hermione that clearly ordered her not to start about house-elves at that moment.

Hermione understood the message and also saw it as her cue to leave. Besides, she saw Harry entering the Hall anyway.

"Good morning."

"Humph," came the reply when they both sat down a few seats away from Ginny and Dean. Harry looked very moody.

"Managed to dump Won-Won with Lav-Lav on Valentines?" she asked brightly. Lately, she had noticed that Ron didn't actually like being around Lavender a lot, except to eat her face. That, and the picture Ginny had finally given her about a certain necklace, made the thought about him and his girlfriend on Valentines Day a bit more bearable.

"I don't know. He was still getting dressed as I left," Harry muttered, while not even looking at her.

"And the reason why you are so cranky is because..?" She couldn't help but saying. Harry now focused on her.

"Because I have nothing to be happy about. I'm still not any further with Slughorn and I found this-" he ducked underneath the table to get something out of his book bag. It was a crumbled piece of paper and when Hermione straightened it out, it read:

_Not from the stars do I my judgement __pluc;_

_And yet methinks I have __Astronomy__, _

_But not to tell of good and evil luck, _

_Of plagueus, of dearths or __seasons'__ quality;_

_Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell, _

_Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind, _

_Or say with princes if it shall go well_

_By oft predict that I heaven find;_

_But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive, _

_And__,__ constant __stars,__ in them I read such art_

_As truth and beauty shall together thrive, _

_If from __thyself,__ to store thou wouldst convert;_

_Or else of thee this I __prognosticate__: _

_Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date._

"This is Shakespeare... with some misspellings in the first two sentences," was all Hermione could come up with when she was done reading.

"Well, I'm glad I now know the lunatic who send me this didn't come up with it by herself!" was Harry's sarcastic remark. Hermione couldn't help but grin, which only seemed to infuriate him even more.

"I thought I had had the worst when the mistletoe was hanging everywhere!"

"It's actually very badly chosen. I mean, the last few sentences are referring to your death."

"Great. So now I also have to include Moaning Myrtle as one of the candidates who could have written this," Harry ranted."You probably won't know who send it, do you?"

Hermione shook her head, while still trying to hide her smile.

"It's not as if you haven't received letters before… Just ignore them, like you did in your second year," she tried to tell him with a straight face. However, it didn't work and only seem to infuriate Harry more. He went red and started to cut up his already scrambled eggs in an aggressive way.

"Where did you find it?"

"At my nightstand. Ron actually found it. He laughed himself mad. I could just prevent him from reading it out loud to the other guys," he murmured ashamedly. Hermione couldn't hide her laughter any longer and giggled at the image.

"You actually think that's funny?" Harry asked, eyes wide.

"What's funny?" Ginny overheard and leaned in.

In the blink of an eye, Harry plunged himself forward, grabbed, with his excellent Seeker-skills, the parchment out of Hermione's hands and hid it under the table.

"Nothing," Hermione heard herself and Harry say at exactly the same time, not sounding innocent at all. Ginny quirked an eyebrow but shrugged it off. Hermione guessed that Ginny was used to not knowing what she and Harry talked about. She saw that it still annoyed her but, for this time at least, she accepted it. Hermione threw a glance at Harry and saw, to her surprise, that he was now as crimson as she had only known Ron could be. Ginny was just about to ask something when Dean came over too.

"I got my stuff. Let's go Ginny; I'll walk you to your class." Then, as he saw Harry, he greeted; "Hi Harry! You left the dorm at top-speed this morning! What was Ron laughing about?"

"Hi Dean," Harry muttered darkly, not looking at Dean or answering his question. When Dean led Ginny away from them, the red-head exchanged a quick but meaningful glance with Hermione to indicate that this was exactly the odd behaviour of Harry's that she was talking about. Hermione turned her attention back to Harry and saw that he was now tearing the parchment into little pieces with his eyes on Ginny and Dean who were holding hands.

"Setting it on fire will be much quicker," she tried to humour him. He didn't react. She poured herself some pumpkin juice and drank for a while; really hoping that an idea would spring to her mind to get Harry talking about what was bothering him, other than the Valentines-poem that was. She had promised Ginny to find out what was bothering Harry a few days ago when the red-head had started talking _again_ about how weird Harry acted during the practises. Hermione wondered why Ginny had seen that Harry acted weird before she had noticed it herself. It actually bothered her a bit since she was supposed to be closer to Harry than Ginny was...

As she glanced at her Friend-Who-Lived (still trying to make the pieces of parchment smaller and smaller, while looking at Ginny and Dean with an angry expression on his face) it suddenly hit her. Maybe the poem hadn't irritated Harry as much as she had thought it had. Maybe the fact that it reminded him of another (even worse) poem had bugged him more...

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_Thadaaaah! Well, here's chapter 68, and this time, it's the correct version, edited and all... I will change chapter 67 asap...again, many thanks to loveisthegreatestmagic..._

_Sorry I haven't answered the reviews of the last chapter yet: I'll do so after uploading this...._

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it (which was A LOT :D)_

_leave a review if you like!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	69. About training and lecturing

_If I were JK, I probably wouldn't get graded anymore for speaking in front of a public, like today...._

**69. (About training and lecturing)  
**"It is always easier for one man to solve another man's problem."

_Chinese Proverb_

"Ginny! Move more to the left! You're leaving an opportunity open there, and Hufflepuff will use everything they can to get past you in the upcoming match!"

Ginny pulled a face, but did fly more to the left as Harry had ordered.

It was the last week of February and already Harry was making them train harder than normal for the upcoming game in March.

Quickly, she passed the Quaffle to Demelza, who passed it to Dean, who passed it back to her and-

"Saved it again, Gin!" her brother bellowed. "You'll have to do more than that! The trick's getting a bit old!"

"Well done Ron, but stop annoying your sister!" both the Weasleys looked up at this comment from their team-captain, but Harry had already turned his broom around and blown on his whistle.

"That's it for tonight people! It's getting too dark to see the bludgers and I don't want any more injuries! Katie was enough!"

They landed and Ron walked up to Ginny.

"Hey, did you get a letter from mum too?"

She nodded.

"Did I understand it correctly by thinking that she and dad are moving back to Grimmauld Place?"

"I deduced that too."

Ron groaned. "Great, I'm looking forward to spending another summer cleaning an evil house."

"Maybe mum and dad will only live there temporarily. Just until we come back for the summer," she shrugged. She had forgotten how nice it sometimes was to talk to Ron. They didn't do that enough.

"Ron! Won-Won!" Lavender was standing in the stands, waving at her boyfriend, who, at that time, pretended not to hear her. Ginny realised that this was exactly the reason why she didn't talk so much with Ron: he had an annoying girlfriend. Ginny saw that Lavender had dressed as if it was already summer and was slowly turning blue. Just as blue as the earrings she now wore every day…

"Ron, those earrings you gave to Lavender," she suddenly started, now remembering something that had bugged her for quite some time, "were they meant for her?"

"Talk about changing the subject. We were having a conversation about Grimmauld Place, remember?" he said, avoiding her question.

"No really, Ron, were they? Because-" and now it suddenly all came back. "Because you had already bought them in October, hadn't you? Through Post-ordering? And you hadn't even started to date Lavender then!"

Ron didn't react but when she kept glaring, feeling more certain of herself with every second, he stammered: "They were for Lavender. I-I liked her back then and I had wanted to give them to her for her birthday…Let's go change, Ginny, I have a huge amount of homework to get through once we're back in the castle." He turned around and, with his broom over his shoulder, walked to the dressing rooms.

"No you didn't! You said they were a Christmas-gift for someone!" she remembered, but Ron didn't react and walked further away from her.

When she changed into her normal clothes, her pensive mood changed slowly into anger. She was sure that those clip-on earrings had been meant for Hermione. How dare he give them to that little tart sitting in the stands instead! If only he knew how much Hermione had needed him during Christmas! If only they both knew how much they needed each other...that gave her an idea.

She changed into her regular clothes extra slowly and shrugged Dean off, who walked on his own to the castle. Only Harry and Ron were left in the dressing room now. Ron was actually waiting for Harry, who was putting the bats belonging to the beaters in their crate in the corner. An idea suddenly struck her.

"Harry, I think Peakes and Coote left their table-menace-balls on the ground again," she said. Harry just stared at her so she tried again. "You know, the little white things the beaters are supposed to practise their aim with!"

"Oh, you mean table-tennis!" he sighed and opened the door to the field again.

"Shall I help, mate?" Ron asked. But Ginny wanted to prevent that. She really needed to be alone with Ron. Finally, the oddness Harry had hanging over him would help her. She somehow just knew how he was going to react.

"I'll help too," she said as she walked up to Harry and the door, but the first one hastily shook his head.

"No- No, that won't be necessary. You guys just walk up to the castle. It won't be long."

She nodded and when the door closed, immediately turned to Ron who took a few steps back due to the look on her face.

"Erm…shall we go then? I think Lavender is waiting outside for me," he tried to ask in an off-handed manner.

"No, not yet. I have to talk to you first. I'm the one who talks. You don't have to say anything back to me but I think that you should know this."

Ron tried to back away from her but found that he was standing against the wall.

"Those earrings you gave Lavender were meant for Hermione. Now, I know you two aren't speaking to each other and I don't exactly understand why that is, though I have a good idea, but I think that you are still her friend and need to know that she needs you. Last Christmas, when you were giving _her_ earrings to another girl, she was having a very hard time with her parents. They refused to let her go back to Hogwarts after hearing what kind of state our world is in. In a panic she ran away and into Tonks who had to modify her parents' memories. When she arrived back at Hogwarts a day too early, she talked with Dumbledore. But instead of reassuring her, in his Dumbledore-ish manner as he usually does, he gave her some weird books to read and the message that it might be necessary to modify her parents' memories again."

Her throat felt dry, and Ron still refused to look at her, but she knew that he was listening by the way he was focusing too much on the stone wall over her right shoulder. She continued: "When I came back from our holiday, I found a completely panicked Hermione whom I have only seen so lost and panicked once in her life; at the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament when Harry had vanished. I tried to reassure her and I've been trying to be as much of a help as she needs. Eventually, she did calm down. But she's still not happy, Ron. Of course I'm her friend, and capable of reassuring her, but I'm not as good as you are. She needs _you_. Just as much as you need her more than that tart that's been licking your face off every evening."

Before Ron could realise that she had just insulted his girlfriend in her last sentence, she opened the door and walked out of the dressing room towards the castle.

Funnily enough, she had just said exactly what she had wanted to say, even though her thoughts about a subject had never been so incoherent. If she hadn't been so scared of the objects, she should have started a diary: she might have a way with words.

* * *

_Hi there! Hope you liked the chapter! I know that there's nothing in the book about Ginny meddling in Ron and Hermione's buisiness, but I figured that since Harry doesn't try to change it, and Ron would probably not change out of himself, there had to be something and someone to make him think about how much he hurt Hermione... now let's hope he will listen ;P_

_thanks for the reviews and thanks to loveisthegreatestmagic, for beta-ing..._

_keep reading! _

_x-mokimik-x_


	70. About trying and rejecting

_If I was JK, I wouldn't be so tired at the moment, because I wouldn't have had 4 crew matches last weekend...._

**70. (about trying and rejecting)**

"Spiteful words can hurt your feelings but silence breaks your heart."

_**Anonymous**_

"I'm sorry; I have patrol duties this evening."

"But you promised to study together for that transfiguration test next week!"

Not wanting to hear the whining of Lavender and the reassuring tones of Ron any longer, Hermione turned around and walked up to the exit, planning to start her patrol duties without the familiar silent nod she and Ron shared before they split. But the moment she climbed trough the portrait hole, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey, Hermione, wait up!" More surprised that he talked to her than actually obliging him, she stopped in her tracks.

Ron climbed trough the hole too, and closed the portrait behind him. The Fat Lady eyed them curiously.

"Want to walk together again?"

She couldn't help but stare. Not only was he talking again, he was asking to walk together again? What had happened to their silent agreement to not talk and to walk individually?

Ron became a bit red and shrugged. "Cameron is bound to find out somehow. Maybe it's best to walk together again…" he clarified lamely.

Hermione couldn't do more than nod. Now that Ron mentioned it: Cameron did almost find out about it: when she had inspected a bathroom the last time she had been patrolling, she had to quickly tell a lie why Ron wasn't waiting outside that bathroom, since the Head-Girl had been inside, washing her hands.

They started to walk. It was still silent between them, but Hermione felt the tension to say something building itself up in Ron and, soon enough, he indeed started to make some nervous small talk.

"So… Ginny told me you're tutoring some first years during our practices?"

She didn't respond. Not only was she determined to feign indifference during this whole patrol duty, but Ron was also lying. Hermione had never told Ginny about the tutoring: it had felt like a silly thing to teach for fun, in the time that your other friends were playing a cool sport. But how did Ron find out about it? And why would he lie about such a thing?

"It's nice of you. And you yourself can revise on some old spell work too. Not that you need it off course…" apparently, Ron had hoped she would have reacted by now, but her lips were still tight shut. He started on a different subject.

"So…. Tomorrow is my birthday…"

She knew. The first of March. After knowing Ron for almost six years, she knew how much he always looked forward to it and how he kept dropping unsubtle hints to his friends about what he wanted to get in the weeks leading up to it. But what did he expect? That she would now wish him a Happy Birthday? Or that she would actually have a gift for him?

"I really was looking forward to that Hogsmeade trip on my birthday. Too bad it got cancelled. I would have loved some Butterbeer. The only thing I now have to look forward to is those stupid Apparition lessons. Have you managed to Apparate yet?"

He looked at her, but as a reply she only quickened her pace. From behind, she heard a sigh, but when he walked next to her again, his face didn't appear to be annoyed and he started to talk as if nothing had happened.

Hermione knew that it would be a long night.

When they were walking back to the portrait hole, Ron still hadn't given up. Halfway through the patrol, he had started to talk about Quidditch and both he and Hermione had quickly realized that he had enough information about that subject to talk for three full patrol duties.

"Have I already mentioned that Harry's an excellent Captain? I mean, he can manage to keep a kind of balance into the team. For instance, Ginny is a great Chaser, but sometimes she forgets that she has two other Chasers to rely on and she forgets to use that advantage."

_And she also has the advantage that the Captain really likes her_, it shot through Hermione's head. Harry had had more than one love letter on Valentine Day, which had made him even more grumpy then he had been during breakfast. After a few simple questions Hermione was now sure that he liked Ginny. This also explained why Ginny thought that Harry was 'acting weird' and why she was the only one to notice.

For a moment she wondered how Ron would react if his best friend would finally make a move on his baby sister. She could see the mental image crystal clear in her head: Harry and Ginny in a deserted corridor, and Ron's face when he found them. A small smile played around her lips, but it vanished immediately when she realized that that image might be the exact reason why Harry hadn't acted on his feelings. Was he too scared to risk his friendship with Ron for it? Or, another more guilty thought slid up, had _she_ herself been the cause, when she had told Harry a last year that Ginny had forgotten about him?

"And with Peakes and Coote…" Ron now moved along to the beaters, but Hermione didn't listen to him anymore. She kept thinking about Harry's dilemma, which now suddenly seemed far more complicated.

They finally arrived in the Fat Lady's corridor. She walked up to it, but suddenly felt a hand around her wrist.

"Ron," she said and cursed at herself for breaking one of her own promises by speaking to him.

However, this time he didn't react, but pulled her towards the corner of the corridor, where no one, not even the portraits, would hear them.

There, he started to speak in an urgent whisper.

"Look, I know you're mad at me, but can we _please…"_ His eyes pleaded more than his mouth did and Hermione felt her insides squirm. Her pride was battling with her longing to be friends with him again. But the squirming also made her furious with the boy in front of her. Where did he get the nerve to rip her wound open like that again? Couldn't he just let things rest? Her answer came not as quickly as she had wanted, but it sounded very steady.

"No."

"But-" But she interrupted him.

"No, Ron. What is it this time you need me for? Your homework? Your Apparating progression, or lack thereof? Your worries for Harry?"

But Ron reacted calmer than expected, and it threw Hermione even more off balance than all the surprising things he had done this evening added up.

"I heard about your Christmas holiday with your parents."

There had only been one living soul who could have told him this and Hermione was pretty sure she would never speak to Ron's sister again for doing that. Rage seemed to stream trough her vessels.

"And now you're feeling _sorry_ for me? Is that it?"

"No, it's got nothing-"

"Because I don't need your sympathy! Just as I don't need your help, or your advice or _you_, for that matter!"

Before Ron knew it, she had turned around again and ran to the portrait.

"Dear, dear, what's the matter with you?" The Fat Lady asked. To her dismay, Hermione felt that tears were dripping from her eyes again.

"Nothing! Tapeworm!"

"Hermione!" Ron was coming towards her.

"Happy birthday Ron!" she yelled at him, and before he could reply, she vanished into the common room, and quickly went into the girls dormitories.

She was woken up the next morning by a knock on the door. When Hermione looked around, she saw that it was already late and that the rest of her roommates had already left for breakfast. If she didn't hurry, she would be too late for Apparating. She stood up and opened the door.

Ginny was standing in the doorway, looking panicked.

"Go away, Ginny," she said flatly, remembering painfully clearly what Ron had known last evening. She closed the door in his sister's face. However, as she turned around to change into her normal clothes, Ginny entered the room anyway.

"Hermione-" But Hermione interrupted.

"I don't care how sorry you are for telling Ron about my parents or what good reasons you had. I told you not to do so!"

"But-"

"He was the last person who I wanted to know that I had a lousy Christmas! You don't blab personal stuff to the person I'm fighting with! You should have stayed out of it! This was my own business!"

"Hermione-" Ginny started again, but Hermione shook her head and ranted on.

"I wouldn't tell Dean that you have problems too, wouldn't I?"

"But I don't have any problems with him!" the girl managed to interrupt.

"Hypothetically, then!" Hermione yelled. Hermione turned around, looking for her clothes. To her annoyance, Ginny didn't leave. She heard how the girl breathed a few times to calm down. Just as Hermione was turning around to find her pants, Ginny stated: "Look, I'm not here to apologize. I came to tell you that McGonagall just asked for me in her office: Ron's been poisoned."

* * *

_duhduduuhhh..... It's been a while since I had a real clifhanger at the end of a chapter...tell me your thoughts! (allthough technically, this isn't a cliffhanger, since you already know how the whole story ends :P) Do you find it likely that Ron would've started to talk again, or not?_

_As always also thanks to loveisthegreatestmagic, who has edited this text...._

_Hope you keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	71. About poisoning and panicking

_If I were J.K., I wouldn't have a crew-match his afternoon... _

71. (About poisoning and panicking)

"It is impossible to fall out of love. Love is such a powerful emotion, that once it envelops you it does not depart. True love is eternal. If you think that you were once in love, but fell out of it, then it wasn't love you were in. There are no 'exit' signs in love, there is only an 'on' lamp."

_unknown_

She hadn't felt so stupid for a long time. Ron had wanted to make up with her only the night before, and she had let him fall down like a rock. And here he was now, lying in the bed, as white as his sheets, every now and then coughing. She couldn't help but feel helpless: the panicked Hermione-part inside her slowly took over.

After Ginny had told her, the girl had sped up to McGonagall, while Hermione herself had run over to the Hospital Wing. Harry had waited there outside. First he was furious and ranted about how Pomfrey hadn't let him in, but when she had asked (in that weird unnatural high voice she now seemed to have permanently) what happened, Harry had explained.

"Romilda Vane had given me some Chocolate Cauldrons for Christmas. Apparently, they were spiked with love potion. Ron thought they were one of his presents and ate a few of them by mistake. I had to take him to Slughorn, who explained that they strengthen over time…He cured Ron and then wanted to toast his birthday by giving us some oak mead. However, the mead was poisoned. He started to squirm and drool, with foam around his mouth. I remembered the bezoar that I used last lesson and thought it might still be in Slughorn's bag, so I grabbed it and then I got the bezoar down his throat and his breathing eased up a bit. Slughorn ran for help, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey turned up, and they brought Ron up here. But now they won't let me in!"

In an hour, Ginny had arrived, looking very pale.

"McGonagall wants to see you too, Harry. She wants to know exactly what happened," she told her friend.

Harry shook his head. "I want to see Ron."

"Just go, we'll watch Ron. You know Madam Pomfrey; she will keep us away for as long as possible," Ginny said in a soft voice. Miraculously, Harry had left after that.

Harry told them later that besides McGonagall, Dumbledore had wanted to see him too, but it didn't matter that he had left longer than planned: the door had still been closed when he arrived back, and the only evidence of the passing of the time had been the sunlight getting brighter in the corridor and the now apparent tear-streaks on Ginny's face, which she had rubbed away furiously. They had discussed who had tried to kill Ron, but Hermione hadn't participated. For all she knew, the only enemy Ron really had, had been her.

It had only been a few hours ago that the door finally opened, allowing first only family, which contained Ginny and her now arrived parents, into the room. After half an hour, Harry and Hermione were allowed to go in also. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were called away quickly after that, to talk to Dumbledore about Ron's state. Pomfrey had told them that Ron was going to be fine, while Ginny was trying to rub the tears off her face again.

However, Hermione hadn't said a word. She was simply too scared. Only now Ron was unable to talk physically, she realized how much she had missed him in the few months they hadn't exchanged words.

She didn't hear some new people arrive around the bed until they spoke.

"Hi Ginny. How is he?"

Hermione recognized the voice of George.

"As good as he can be, I heard Madam Pomfrey say."

"So, all in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays?" said Fred.

"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present," said George and he bowed over to put a huge gift on the bed stand next to Hermione.

"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious," said Fred.

"There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him —" said George.

"You were in Hogsmeade?" asked Ginny, looking up.

"We were thinking of buying Zonko's," said Fred gloomily. "A Hogsmeade branch, you know, but a fat lot of good it'll do us if you lot aren't allowed out at weekends to buy our stuff anymore ... But never mind that now."

"How exactly did it happen, Harry?"

Harry retold the same story. Just as he had told it to Ginny and probably to McGonagall and Dumbledore.

Hermione didn't listen. She didn't need to know how it had happened. She needed to know how it could be undone. How these past few months could be undone. Ron couldn't be unconscious for such a long time! He had to listen to her apologizing. He had to listen to her worries she had had for the last couple of months. He even had to listen to her know-it-all-voice, which he hated, but which she always seemed to use anyway, when everything would be back to normal and they would fight and quarrel again.

"Blimey, it was lucky you thought of a bezoar," she cached George saying.

"Lucky there was one in the room," Harry replied darkly. Hermione shuddered and felt tears sting behind her eyes. How horrible it would be if Ron had died…or if he died now…

"Do Mum and Dad know?" Fred asked.

"They've already seen him, they arrived an hour ago — they're in Dumbledore's office now, but they'll be back soon..."

A silence fell, but Hermione didn't notice. She had grabbed Ron's hand and now heard him mumble something.

"So the poison was in the drink?" said Fred quietly.

"Yes. Slughorn poured it out —"

"Would he have been able to slip something into Ron's glass without you seeing?"

"Probably," said Harry, "but why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?"

Ron mumbled something more, and Hermione listened intensely.

"No idea," came the reply. "You don't think he could have mixed up the glasses by mistake? Meaning to get you?"

"Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?" she heard Ginny ask.

She wished they would all quiet down a bit, so she could hear what Ron was mumbling

"…there must be loads of people who'd like to poison Harry, mustn't there? 'The Chosen One' and all that?"

"So you think Slughorn's a Death Eater?" said Ginny.

"Anything's possible," said Fred darkly.

"He could be under the Imperius Curse," said George.

"Or he could be innocent," Ginny discussed. "The poison could have been in the bottle, in which case it was probably meant for Slughorn himself."

"Who'd want to kill Slughorn?"

She gave up her attempts to hear anything from Ron and, for the first time in hours, withdrew her face from the ill body under the sheets towards the lively discussion that was now going on around the bed.

"Dumbledore reckons Voldemort wanted Slughorn on his side," Harry added. "Slughorn was in hiding for a year before he came to Hogwarts. And..." she saw that he was quickly glancing at her and they both thought about the memory Harry had to get from Slughorn. "And maybe Voldemort wants him out of the way, maybe he thinks he could be valuable to Dumbledore."

"But you said Slughorn had been planning to give that bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas," Ginny said, shaking her head. "So the poisoner could just as easily have been after Dumbledore."

"Then the poisoner didn't know Slughorn very well," she heard herself say with a hoarse voice. All looked in her direction and she explained: "Anyone who knew Slughorn would have known there was a good chance he'd keep something that tasty for himself."

The attention was taken off her as Ron suddenly mumbled, this time louder.

"Er-my-nee."

She tensed. Was that really her name he had spoken? By the looks of Fred and George and the smile playing around Ginny's lips, it must've been. She focused back on Ron again, who was muttering some more.

"'orry-erent-eh-oh-you."

All eyes the eyes in the room were on him and his lips, but then the door suddenly flew open. The only person who didn't look up, feeling guiltier than ever for her stupid behaviour in these past few months, and trying to fight back tears, was Hermione.

* * *

_Short, a lot from the books and not really a happy chapter.... Ah well, it's part of the story, so it needs to be told..._

_Thanks for the many reviews I have gotten lately and thanks to loveisthegreatestmagic, who makes these chapters readable :P_

_Next chapter: Ginny's pov about Ron being poisoned: still a lot from the books, but with an ending I'm sure the Harry-Ginny-people will like...._

_All right, teased and spoiled you enough...Leave a review if you like... I promise replies to signed ones...._

_x-mokimik-x_


	72. About suggesting and dreaming

_If I had been JK, I wouldn't have been in Bruege, Belgium, last weekend, for crew-trainings_

**72. (About embarrassing and suggesting)**

"You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel."

_unknown_

Ginny couldn't help but feel a bit happy after the mumbling. Even in his sleep Ron managed to startle Hermione. That must've meant that he was getting better, right? Hagrid had entered and was now discussing with Harry what exactly had happened.

"No more than six visitors at a time!" she suddenly heard Madam Pomfrey say.

Ginny exchanged a glance with George and Fred; who would make the obvious comment first?

"Hagrid makes six," George pointed out.

"Oh… yes…" came the lame reply. After frowning upon Hagrid's footprints and cleaning them up, she quickly disappeared back into her office again.

"I don' believe this. Jus' don' believe it…Look at him lyin' there…Who'd want ter hurt him, eh?"

"That's just what we were discussing," said Harry. "We don't know."

"Someone couldn' have a grudge against the Gryffindor Quidditch team, could they?" said Hagrid anxiously. "Firs' Katie, now Ron . . ."

"I can't see anyone trying to bump off a Quidditch team," said George and Ginny had to agree with that.

"Wood might've done the Slytherins if he could've got away with it," said Fred fairly. Ginny smiled. She would never admit it out loud, but sometimes she really missed the twins in Hogwarts. They had a way of turning even the worse things into something funny.

Well, I don't think it's Quidditch, but I think there's a connection between the attacks," said Hermione quietly. Ginny turned again, looking at her. Hermione's eyes were still focused on Ron, with a desperation that clearly wanted to urge him to say more.

"How d'you work that out?" asked Fred.

"Well, for one thing, they both ought to have been fatal and weren't, although that was pure luck. And for another, neither the poison nor the necklace seems to have reached the person who was supposed to be killed. Of course," she added while adverting her eyes from Ron to the rest of the people, "that makes the person behind this even more dangerous in a way, because they don't seem to care how many people they finish off before they actually reach their victim."

Ginny saw Harry nod and knew of whom he was thinking, but before he could say a thing, her parents walked in. Her mother walked immediately up to Harry, whereas her father gave her and her brothers (the ones that were awake) a tiny nod.

"Dumbledore's told us how you saved him with the bezoar," her mother said in a teary, brittle voice. "Oh, Harry, what can we say? You saved Ginny…you saved Arthur…now you've saved Ron…" She saw that Harry was getting crimson and he sputtered: "Don't be… I didn't…"

Unfortunately, her father continued. "Half our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it. Well, all I can say is that it was a lucky day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Harry."

Harry seemed to be too embarrassed to reply and a silence would have fallen if it wasn't for Madam Pomfrey.

"I'm sorry, but only six visitors per time."

"I was going to go, anyway," Harry said, slowly turning. To Ginny's surprise, Hermione also stood up and after saying goodbye, she followed Harry. Hagrid closed the door behind them, claiming he needed to feed Fang, which left Ginny with her family.

While her parents bowed over Ron once more, Ginny focused back on George and Fred.

"Enough about our dearest younger brother, I would say. He always manages to get the most attention…Ginny, how are you?"

"Yes, because you two never draw a crowd…I'm fine, I guess," she answered a bit apprehensively for where this was leading to. "As fine as I can be when my brother is poisoned by an unknown person for an unknown reason of course,' she added.

"Of course. Still dating that Thomas-guy?"

In a split second, she suddenly remembered that she had agreed to meet Dean some four hours ago, but Ginny had no intention to let her stupidity be known to her two brothers who seemed to have mastered the skill of quickly changing subjects.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," George said in a way that was too innocent to be normal.

"What?" she now asked.

"We thought you would have… ah… moved on…more fish in the sea and all that stuff,"

"If you mean that I'm easy…" she started with an angry voice, but Fred interrupted.

"That wasn't what we meant at all, beloved sister."

"Then what did you mean?"

But the twins didn't say anymore and merely laughed innocently at her.

When Ginny was lying in her bed that night, it took a long time for her to fall a sleep. The pale face of Ron kept drifting into her thoughts and fear kept her awake. What if the killer was really out for Ron and would go to the Hospital Wing to finish the job?

She had never appreciated this brother fully, until now. True, at school Ron was mostly a pain in the arse, but her childhood wouldn't be half as much fun if Ron hadn't been there. Of course the twins were funny, but they had each other to play with. She and Ron had always been a team. She had never realized that that would have changed once Ron was allowed to go to Hogwarts and choose his own friends. She had expected to see her playmate back at Christmas, but instead she got a hasty reply that told her mum that Ron would rather stay at Hogwarts with the famous Harry Potter, than travel with the family to see Charlie again.

She sighed and turned around. Her mind had to be set on something else. Quidditch would do the trick. She, Dean and Demelza were forming a real team under Harry's training scheme. The passes had never been better and the aiming had never been sharper. She was confident that they would win next week's game…

She was flying with her hair loose on a warm summer day. Below her, she could see the Burrow, and moments later Hogwarts. She flew to the stadium, which was completely empty. There was a comfortable silence. Suddenly, someone was walking up to her. He looked pale, but that was because of the intensity of the light. It was Dean. Ginny landed and stood next to him. He said something, but she didn't hear it because they were already kissing. A nice breeze flew over the field and twirled around them. The kiss was intense and nice and she felt the butterflies in her stomach again that she lately had been missing with her and Dean… Ginny opened her eyes, but to her surprise, she wasn't kissing Dean anymore…. Harry was kissing her, and instead of stopping when she realized it wasn't Dean anymore, she just kept kissing. Her lips felt electric and were tingling; her hands were now in his hair and….

The dream disappeared.

When Ginny would wake up the next morning, she would only remember that she had slept really well and had dreamed, but couldn't exactly remember what it had been about.

* * *

_Hi there! It's me again with my usual Monday-update. Hope you liked the chapter... I'm pretty sure that the Ginny/Harry fans did :P_

_Anyway, as always thanks for the many reviews I got on the last chapter, and also thanks to my beta loveisthegreatestmagic. _

_leave a review with your comments about my chapters. Signed ones always get a reply back :)_

_x-mokimik-x_


	73. About doubting and bullying

_If I were JK, I would've already written this story, and not made a pathetic attempt to fill in the white spots, like I'm doing now..._

**73. (About doubting and bullying)**

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself."

_Harvey S. Firestone_

"What do you mean, 'This is just like Ron'? Is he destined to get poisoned?" Ginny flared up. She shook off Dean's arm that was lying on her shoulders and Arnold the Pygmy Puff, who was sitting on her head, twittered angrily because of her sudden movement.

"No Ginny, calm down. That wasn't at all what I meant!"

"Oh, sod off, Dean," she exclaimed, and walked towards the portrait hole to disappear.

When she heard the portrait fall back behind her, she was already sorry about her outburst. Dean had been more than understandable this morning; he had been comforting when she had told him what had happened yesterday. Then he had tried to cheer her up; that Ron was always this clumsy, and having such bad luck, that did just have to happen to him. And now she was standing here…

Not ready to go back in to apologize, she suddenly heard familiar voices coming from around the corner and she followed the noise.

"Why did no one tell me? For Merlin's sake, I'm his girlfriend! I was so worried when he wasn't anywhere to be found, and then I had to hear it from Parvati this morning! Practically a day after it had happened!"

The voice sounded whiny and could only belong to Lavender. The other voice sounded very impatient and Ginny recognized it as her Team Captain's.

"Between getting Ron to the Hospital Wing, and worrying sick about him, I simply forgot. Look, I already said I'm sorry Lavender. I have to go now: Ron's expecting me."

Since her brother hadn't awoken yet, the last sentence clearly had been a lie to shrug her off. But it didn't work.

"Wait up, Harry! I'll walk with you! He's probably longing to see me too!"

A sigh was heard and then footsteps walking away from Ginny. She waited until they died out. She didn't want to see Lavender, just for being her annoying self: she would probably demand an apology from Ginny too. (Which she wouldn't give: Ginny had thought about warning Lavender yesterday, but was of the opinion that Hermione had deserved some alone time with Ron as an apology from her for telling Ron about the situation with her parents.)

"Hi Ginny. Nice to see you again." She almost bumped into Luna.

"Oh, hi Luna. I haven't seen you in a while. How are you? What are you doing?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. I'm looking for my book bag. Bernard Bradley found it funny to hide it yesterday," she stated calmly. "I heard about Ronald. Is he alright?"

"They say he will be fine. Just hasn't woken up yet. Shall I help look for your bag?"

"Oh, that would be nice. I'm actually done with searching the library. When I asked Bradley this morning where my book bag was, he said I could get lost, so I'm searching in all the places you can get lost in Hogwarts. _(Aw poor Luna)_ Have you got any idea where it could be?"

Explaining to Luna that she shouldn't have taken that comment too literary would have taken too much time, so instead Ginny suggested; "Maybe in the dungeons?"

"That's a good one!"

While walking, Luna was humming softly, and Ginny was trying to find the 'off' button in her head, that would stop her own thoughts. She had tried to fool herself long enough, but the fact remained that things hadn't been well between her and Dean after Christmas. They never spoke about it, but little annoyances kept creeping up, a sign that the unresolved fight was still bothering her. She suddenly had to know.

"Luna? What do you think of Dean?"

"He's quite good at Quidditch. You can out fly him, but Demelza is probably only better at scoring. Dean is really good at avoiding Bludgers."

That didn't help at all, but since Luna was the only one she could talk to at the moment, she continued: "Do you think that we fit together?" When asked out loud, the question sounded too stupid to be asked in the first place.

However, Luna looked serious for a moment and then said: "I think you like him very much and are very fond of him."

"But why would I like him?" Ginny asked more to herself then to Luna.

"He makes time for you. Your other Gryffindor friends are always busy."

"Ron's not busy," she replied stubbornly.

"Ronald is more your brother than your friend. And he has a girlfriend with whom he spends time."

Ginny wanted to use Hermione as a counter-argument for Luna's statement, but that sounded ridiculous in her head; denying that Hermione wasn't busy was like saying the girl didn't like to read books.

"And Harry?" she asked.

"Harry's always busy," came the serene answer, between two tones of the humming that had started again. Ginny nodded. Harry did indeed always look quite busy… question was, however…

"With what?"

"Saving the world, of course."

That was actually a good point. A wall of secrets would always stand between her and the Trio, and now that Evelyn was gone, and Suzanne hung out more with the other girls who Ginny didn't like, she indeed only had Dean and Luna as really close friends. Wait; of course Dean was more, wasn't he? You wouldn't kiss a good friend regularly - with tongue.

"I've been watching your last training session. Demelza scored really well," Luna cut her thoughts off when they walked into the Entrance Hall.

"You have? Demelza's been training really hard the past few weeks. She told me that she had no idea she would like Quidditch so much."

"I have to say, she's better than that Vaisey boy from Slytherin. He can't aim that good."

"Have you been watching all the teams practice?"

"Yes," Luna hummed.

"Why? It's freezing on the stands! The last snow only disappeared a week ago!"

"Oh, I find Quidditch quite interesting. And when I take my homework with me, nobody has time to smudge my essay when I'm off to the bathroom."

"I thought they had stooped doing that!" she said angrily, wondering if those boys had forgotten how badly she had hexed them last year. Maybe it was time to remind them…

"Oh, they say it happened accidentally this time," Luna replied.

"But I never see you during practice!"

"I'm up in the stands. Lavender doesn't like me very much, I think. She comes to see Ronald every time. I wish I could fly just as well as Ronald and you, or maybe do something with Quidditch - Oh look, they've left my book bag hanging on that chandelier!" She ran up to a candle-holder that was fixed to the wall and jumped several times to push her bag over the candle and its holder. Ginny watched, feeling a bit ashamed and guilty. If Luna was really one of the only people who could be counted as a close friend who was around at the moment, she had better start to notice and help her more and stop fussing over little details about her relationship with Dean.

-

"Before you go, I want to remind all of you that the match against Hufflepuff is in less than two weeks. Tension will grow, but I will not tolerate incidents that may happen in the corridors, nor debates about who started them. Good luck to all of our team-mates-" McGonagall gave a little nod in Ginny's direction. "Further on, I wish to inform you that there is a spot open for commentator, as mister Smith has to play himself. Those who know someone who plays neither for Gryffindor, nor for Hufflepuff, and will know most of the players, please urge that person to sign up with me. Class dismissed."

-

"Hey, I read your note last evening. Are we good again?" Dean came to sit next to her during lunch, looking a bit nervous. Ginny nodded and smiled. Getting the book bag off the chandelier and hexing the boys that had pestered Luna had taken a lot of time, by which Dean had already gone to bed last night. He had left his books and parchment in the common room, though, and Ginny had scribbled a lengthy apology on it before she went to bed herself.

"Yes, we are. I'm sorry. I guess I overreacted a little, but I was just so worried about him."

"Not anymore?" Seamus asked with a grin, noticing her use of verbs.

"No, he woke up this morning. I haven't seen him, but Harry just told me he looked like the old Ron again," she replied. Dean and Seamus jokingly discussed if they actually had to be happy about that, but Ginny didn't listen anymore. She saw that Luna had walked into the Hall, with a huge smudge on the front of her robes and missing one of her socks.

An idea suddenly hit her. Maybe she couldn't make the pestering stop, but what she could do, was give her friend a new job she would enjoy.

* * *

_And here's the next chapter... a bit late due to some hasty work wich made me upload the chapter, but actually forget to post the darn thing... :)_

_Anyway, I hope you like it! As always thanks for the many reviews I got for the last chapter, and thanks to loveisthegreatestmagic, the beta-er for this and many other chapters...._

_comment? Question? Well, that's why they invented the button called "Review". Every signed one get's a reply!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	74. About talking and making

_If I were J.K., I wouldn't be sitting in the sun, on my little balcony, enjoying the sun. Knowing the English weather, I would be holding an umbrella. _

**74. (About talking and making up)**

"A woman would run through fire and water for such a kind heart."

_William Shakespeare_

That Monday evening, Hermione walked up to the Hospital Wing again. She had wanted to go earlier, but felt far too scared about what Ron could say to her now he was conscious again. She wanted to prevent fights with him more than ever, now she had felt how scared she was of losing him.

Hermione had brought a pile of books, so she could use them as an excuse to just bring him his homework. Harry had gone to the common room, to finish the homework for Snape that was due tomorrow. She had spoken to him at dinner, and he had told her that Ron had been his old self during the time he had sat in the Hospital Wing this afternoon.

With all the courage she could muster, she knocked on the door. There was no reply. That actually made her happy. If he was sleeping, they couldn't talk, or yell. Hermione opened the door and peeked in. To her surprise, Ron did indeed have his eyes closed, but wasn't actually sleeping. He lay in an askew manner on his bed, a comic book had fallen out of his hands and one of those hands was still twitching to lie in the right manner. He was obviously feigning to be asleep and when he peeked out of one eye, Hermione knew it for sure.

"Oh…it's you…I was…I was just waking up."

She played along, carefully avoiding any discussion they could have.

"Oh, okay. If you want me to leave…"

"No, no, come in-"

"I was just going to drop these off-"

"Well, that's very kind-"

"McGonagall told me to-"

"It's still nice…"

They both stammered and quite suddenly, a silence fell. Hermione stared at her feet.

"Take a chair," Ron invited. She sat down, but still didn't say anything. She felt that Ron was looking at her, but she carefully avoided eye contact and kept staring at her feet. She really had to polish her shoes more often.

"How are you?"

"I think I'm supposed to ask you that question…" she joked in an unsteady voice.

"Well, I'm already healing from my pains..."

She looked up in surprise. Even though the comment was probably meant to be funny, it was still one of the most sensitive things Ron had ever said to her.

"I'm fine." The shoe-staring was back.

Ron didn't reply.

"I'm sorry." When she still felt the stare, she continued: "For the birds." Hermione looked up. "I guess I deserved it," came the soft reply. Hermione saw that Ron was getting just as red as she already was.

"Are…are we good again?" he asked. She nodded fervently. She was relieved that he had plucked up the courage to ask it. She could never have done it.

"That's nice. I really missed you, and not just because of the homework," he went on. She nodded again, feeling a bit awkward. She wanted to say how worried she was, or how stupid she had been to yell at him during the last time he had made an attempt to talk again, but all of the words seem to formulate themselves in a movement. Suddenly, without thinking, or becoming insecure, Hermione stood up and hugged him.

If it was possible, they both became even redder after that and she quickly changed the subject, for she would already know that discussing this gesture would be too awkward.

"Does it still hurt?"

Ron shrugged. "It did yesterday, but it's already getting better. Feels a bit like a cramp in your stomach. My throat was also damaged by the poison, but Madam Pomfrey said that that would heal first, and I don't feel it anymore, so I guess that it's healed."

She had missed his babbling. She had missed his off-hand attitude and his voice. She had missed him so much. And even though she realized that he still had a girlfriend and that they would probably never be more than just friends, (her insides squirmed a bit sadly again) she was fine with it. Or at least she would try to be fine with it: it was better than having no Ron at all.

Suddenly, she didn't find it that hard to talk to him anymore. She started about her parents; then the strange talk with Dumbledore; her worries for Harry; how he was slowly obsessing over Malfoy; her worries for Ron; who could possibly want to poison him?

Ron commented on a lot: agreeing, disagreeing, nodding and replying. In short: reacting in just the right way.

"Do you think Dumbledore is preparing you for what might come, like he is preparing Harry with those memories?"

"Could be. I don't know. At first, I was sort of panicked about it, but the more I read, the more I could see the structure between the books and that they are not that bad to read, actually. I still don't see why I suddenly need to know the spells of unplottable spaces and extra background on Apparating."

"You've got a book about that?" his eyes widened and Hermione caught his drift, but shook her head.

"It's more about the aspects of how the ministry can actually keep an eye on it and how splinching needs to be taken care of after it happens."

"Oh," Ron leaned back in his cushions, a bit disappointed. "Ugh, I hate Apparating. It's frustrating when nothing happens. I mean- I've been looking forward so much towards the day I was allowed to do it, but now it seems that I'm just not able to do it at all!"

"I think it just needs some time. You have to get the hang of it, but until then, nothing visible will happen…"

Ron nodded. For a while, he and Hermione were both silent. Hermione felt a huge bubble of happiness in her stomach.

She knew that all the problems weren't solved: her parents were still under a spell, Harry was still obsessed with Malfoy while he was supposed to be learning about Horcruxes, and not to forget; Ron still had a girlfriend.

But somehow, looking in those blue eyes, the problems didn't seem as impossible as they had been. It didn't matter in which way he did it, but only to hear his voice made her worries seem suddenly half as serious as they had been before. Just the fact that she was able to share her troubles with him again made her happy.

* * *

_sorry I'm late with updating folks... I can't help it, my schedule is far too full. This is really the first time since Thuesday morning that I'm not sleeping, eating, working, studying, or training. And Monday I was at my parents, celebrating Easter (we Dutch people take two days for that;)) Look at it from the bright side: Only 5 days until I upload again!_

_thanks to all the wonderful reviews (to those whom I haven't replied yet: you're next on my to-do-list) and thanks to loveisthegreatestmagic, for reviewing this chapter. I hope you guys liked the chapter. It was a bit short, but short fluff is still fluff. :)_

_Keep reading!_

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	75. About bossing and clearing

_If I were JK Rowling, my hands wouldn't be full of blisters at the moment, because I wouldn't be crewing every day..._

**75. (About bossing and clearing)**

"Not to be lost in idle admiration is the only sure means of making and preserving happiness."

_Horatius_

"No, no, you're doing it all wrong! You have to hold the bat more to your body when you're flying! Like I showed you before you climbed on your broom! You're catching too much air, which will slow you down!"

Ginny looked up in rage. That had been the fourth comment in a minute Cormac McLaggen had given to one of his team-mates. What had gotten into Harry's mind to make him think McLaggen would be suitable?

She heard a whistle and quickly got back into position. The exercise they did today was far from difficult, but it did require some concentration.

Harry blew again on the whistle, and Ginny gained speed. On her left, Demelza was holding the Quaffle, also gaining speed. She passed it to Dean, who was flying below Ginny and he had to pass it directly up to Ginny, so she could score or pass it back to Dean or Demelza, as a diversion for the Keeper. When the Quaffle came into her hands, she passed it over to Demelza. They were now near the goals, where McLaggen was still giving directions to the Beaters. To her surprise, Demelza suddenly threw the ball back at her, and as in a reflex, Ginny aimed and threw.

The Quaffle went trough the middle hoop.

"Well done Chasers!" Harry praised them from a few yards above. "McLaggen, why did you not pay attention to the Chasers?"

"Because your beater here doesn't even know the first things about flying and I was explaining how he could improve!"

"Jimmy flies just fine!" Harry proclaimed, flying towards their substitute-Keeper.

"Well, if you can't even see that he's losing a lot of speed by not keeping his bat tighter to his body, you might have the same problem too. And we all know how important it is for a Seeker to fly fast," he laughed. The whole team had now gathered around the goalpost and McLaggen looked around to see if anybody else found his joke amusing. It's needless to say that nobody did.

"I fly just fine," Harry now said coldly.

"I'm just saying…If your beaters don't know how to fly properly, they must've gotten it from their Captain..."

An icy silence fell. Ginny was fuming, but unable to come up with a retort that would be harsh enough for McLaggen. He was lucky that she didn't have her wand on her at the moment.

"Peakes flies just fine. Just as I do, and any other member of _my_ team," Harry said sharply. Before McLaggen could say anything further, he proclaimed: "That's it for tonight people. I will give you some last tips and comments in the changing room for the game tomorrow."

"Hey there! Why the long face?" Ron looked up from a book he was reading when Ginny stormed into the Hospital Wing.

"Is there any chance that you will be able to fly tomorrow?"

Ron looked sad at the mention of flying and shook his head.

"No, I'm not even allowed to see the match in the stands. Pomfrey wants to keep me here**,** at least until school starts after the weekend. Why do you ask?"

"That McLaggen is driving the whole team crazy! He thinks he's the best Keeper ever, and thinks that that also gives him the right to take on the job of Captain! And he's not even that good as a Keeper! While giving the others advice, he forgets to guard the goals and we scored every ruddy time during training!"

While ranting, Ginny noticed that Ron actually looked pleased instead of more concerned for his team.

"Well, I'm sorry. I promise that I won't get poisoned a week before the next game."

"You better not be," she grunted. Ginny grabbed a chair and sat next to him. Ron put his book away on his nightstand, where three other books were lying. Ginny quirked an eyebrow and couldn't help but comment.

"Judging by the amount of books, Hermione seems to be dropping by frequently. Does that mean you two are talking again?"

Ron got a bit red, and Ginny felt herself smile. The blush had said more than any verbal answer Ron could ever give.

"That's great!"

"Eh yeah…So-" she noticed that her brother was dying to change the subject. "-any idea who the new commentator will be, now that Smith's playing Quidditch himself?"

"McGonagall is taking care of that. I told Luna it would be something for her, but I actually haven't spoken to her since, so I'm not sure if she ever went to McGonagall..."

Ron's eyes bulged out.

"Luna? You advised Luna to commentate? Why?"

Saying that her friend had been bullied so much that she was forced to do her homework on the Quidditch stands made her feel a bit guilty, so she quickly answered: "Oh, I found out she knows a lot about Quidditch."

"But she'll probably start about one of her crackpot-theories in the middle of the action! She's mad!"

"She's not crazy!"

"Even you have to admit that she's a bit odd. Imagine a Quidditch match commentary with remarks about Snorkacks!" he laughed, but his face quickly darkened. "Well, it's not as if I'll be able to hear it…I'm not even allowed to see it!"

"Of course you will hear it! The field is right outside this window!" Ginny pointed at the window at the left of Ron's bed. "I bet that if you open it, you will at least hear the commentary, and even now and again a cheer from the crowd."

"You think?"

"Yes."

"Well, all right then. All I have to hope for now is that Madam Pomfrey will be away long enough for me to open the window." He looked pleased.

"How are you? Does it still hurt?" she suddenly asked softly. Ron could talk all he wanted, but the fact remained that he was lying in the Hospital Wing, recovering from a near death experience. Ginny suddenly found it hard to make small-talk with him.

"I'm fine," Ron assured her. "At first, I had the feeling that all my organs wanted to jump out of my stomach, or were just doing a conga in there. But the Essence of Rue really helped, I think. The only thing I now have, are little spasms, or cramps..." He grabbed her hand.

"Really Ginny, I'm fine…don't worry."

She felt the urge to hug him, but Pomfrey walked in.

"It's nearly nine o'clock. Visitors aren't allowed anymore," Pomfrey walked in.

Ginny stood up. "Well, I'll see you after the match tomorrow. Good night."

"Sleep well Gin. And good luck!" Ron said.

When she closed the door, she felt a weight falling off her shoulders. She hadn't known that all her little fights with Ron had bothered her so much until just a minute ago.

* * *

_For some weird reason I really enjoy the way how McLaggen is annoying everyone...Don't you just love characters that are soley created to annoy the other characters in a book?_

_As always, thanks for the editing, done by loveisthegreatestmagic and for the many reviews I have gotten. Seriously, guys.. I haven't replied back in 3 weeks (tsktsk, shame on me) and there are now 106 unopened reviews in my mailbox... I'll try to make a beginning tonight and tomorrow. _

_Next up: A match with an unexpected outcome...._

_Keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	76. About playing and falling

_If I were JK, I wouldn't say sorrsorrysorrysorrysorrsorrysorrysorrysorrsorrysorrysorrysorrsorrysorrysorrysorrsorrysorrysorrysorrsorrysorrysorrysorrsorrysorrysorrysorrsorrysorrysorry_

**76. (About playing and falling)**

"The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost."

_G. K. Chesterton_

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous. It's five minutes before the match and you guys are telling me that no one has seen our Captain yet?"

Ginny was fuming. Not only was the stress getting to her, the fact that McLaggen was claiming in the corner that he could substitute for Harry and the fact that Harry still wasn't here to contradict him on that, was annoying her to no end.

"Well, someone has to go to Madam Hooch," McLaggen said, and he stood up, walking towards the door, obviously thinking he was the one most suitable for the job. Everything about him irritated Ginny. From that cocky smile to the annoying tune he was whistling. It was from the newest song from the Hobgoblins, and when he started to whistle the bridge again, she retorted; "You are not our captain, McLaggen." Ginny could feel herself flaring up. "You are barely part of the team, since you're only substituting."

McLaggen wanted to reply, but just at that moment, Harry opened another door and sprinted in.

"Where have you been?" demanded Ginny.

The team, glad their captain had finally arrived, all joined McLaggen, who still stood near the stadium doors but didn't seem as happy as he had a minute ago.

"I met Malfoy," Harry told her quietly, as he pulled his scarlet robes over his head. It seemed as if Harry thought that that argument would explain everything.

"So?"

"So I wanted to know how come he's up at the castle with a couple of girlfriends while everyone else is down here..."

Ginny had heard from Hermione that Harry was getting obsessed, but she never knew it had been this bad. He preferred knowing what Malfoy was up to above Quidditch? He was the bloody captain!

"Does it matter right now?"

"Well, I'm not likely to find out, am I?" said Harry, seizing his Firebolt and pushing his glasses straight. "Come on then!" And without another word, he marched out onto the pitch to deafening cheers and boos. Ginny couldn't help but stare after him for a moment, before she followed the rest of the team.

The cheering (or booing) was deafening, and Ginny held her hand above her eyes to spot Hermione on the Gryffindor stands, waving with a huge smile on her face. She turned 180 degrees to see Luna near the scoreboard, but Luna was too busy with examining the megaphone McGonagall had given her to notice Ginny or any of the other players. Ginny had just heard this morning from Luna that she was chosen to commentate. She wondered what Ron would think when he heard Luna's voice in his bed.

On her left, McLaggen was giving some last tips to the Beaters, while Harry was telling him for the umpteenth time that that wasn't his job.

Somehow, Ginny knew for sure that this was going to be an annoying game. And not only because Hufflepuff were playing fairly well this year.

They kicked off on Madam Hooch's whistle, and rose into the air. Ginny gathered with the other Chasers around the middle, to wait for the Quaffle to be thrown. However, the little wind that was blowing blew the big leather ball into Smith's hands.

"And that's Smith of Hufflepuff with the Quaffle. He did the commentary last time, of course, and Ginny Weasley flew into him, I think probably on purpose, it looked like it. Smith was being quite rude about Gryffindor, I expect he regrets that now he's playing them - oh, look, he's lost the Quaffle, Ginny took it from him, I do like her, she's very nice…"

Ginny couldn't help but grin a bit sheepishly at what Luna had said. Now she heard the girl actually commentating, she was a lot less sure about her choice to push Luna to do this. In her distracted state, Cadwallader took the Quaffle from Ginny even before she could have passed it onto Demelza.

"…but now that big Hufflepuff player's got the Quaffle from her, I can't remember his name, it's something like Bibble — no, Buggins —"

"It's Cadwallader!" said Professor McGonagall loudly from beside Luna.

The crowd laughed.

Ginny grabbed the Quaffle back and passed it over to Dean, but it got caught again by Hufflepuff, this time by Smith.

"Weasley, you have to throw it in a better line. Thomas can't catch it if you throw so lousy!" she heard McLaggen proclaim to her.

Ginny turned around immediately, to reply to that, and she was just in time to see the Quaffle soar near McLaggen and end up in one of the hoops.

"Oh, and he scores. Too bad for Gryffindor," was Luna's next comment.

"McLaggen, will you pay attention to what you're supposed to be doing and leave everyone else alone!" bellowed Harry, wheeling around to face his Keeper.

"You're not setting a great example!" McLaggen shouted back, red-faced and furious.

"And Harry Potter's now having an argument with his Keeper. I don't think that'll help him find the Snitch, but maybe it's a clever ruse…" She saw that Harry glared at Luna, before soaring back to the sky, to Seek again.

For a while, she told herself to ignore McLaggen. Dean, Demelza and she were still playing well, and both she and Demelza scored.

However, every time the Hufflepuff Chasers caught the Quaffle, they couldn't rely on Ron or another good keeper to stop them. And Ginny couldn't be at two places at once.

McLaggen didn't save one goal, but still found enough time to argue with Dean, to yell at the Beaters, and, after a little while, to show Peakes how to hit a Bludger.

Ginny had had it. Playing like this wasn't fun. They weren't a team. They were Harry, Dean, Ginny, Demelza, Peakes and Coote against McLaggen.

She gazed up to see if Harry saw what was happening below him. He had, and, with a lot of speed, was already flying over to McLaggen, the Bludger and the bat.

"Will you give him back his bat and get back to the goal posts!" Ginny heard him roar.

And then, with an eerie crack, it happened.

Before she had even blinked with her eyes, Harry was falling.

Peakes and Coote grabbed Harry by his Quidditch robes, but Ginny saw immediately that the both of them wouldn't hold him for long.

"It looks as if McLaggen has hit Harry with a bat that he wasn't supposed to have held in his hands. I think this makes an end to the opportunities for Gryffindor to win…" Luna said in a serene voice, as if she was noticing a beautiful butterfly flying around her.

Without thinking much further, Ginny grabbed her wand from her pocket and waved. "Wingardium Leviosa!" she saw that both of the boys now gently brought Harry down to the field. If Harry had been conscious, she wryly thought, while landing and running to his body, he would have probably complimented her with her nice wand movement she just did, having learned to improve that spell in the DA last year.

People from the stands came running on the field.

They all stood around Harry, while some blood oozed from his head. With his glasses askew, his eyes closed, and his hair sticky from all the blood he looked as if he was…

"Out of the way!" Ginny heard McGonagall say, but she didn't focus on it. Her vision suddenly seemed blurred and she turned around.

"Where's McLaggen?" she heard herself yell. She looked around, but in the sea of people around her, there wasn't a profile of a large, wiry-haired boy. The tears in her eyes and lump in her throat surprised her, but the panicking feeling in her chest overpowered that surprise completely.

"Ginny," Hermione's voice suddenly said softly next to her.

"Where is he?" she yelled again.

But before she got an answer, tears were now suddenly streaming over her face, and she was embraced in a hug by the bushy-brown-haired girl standing next to her.

She didn't know how long she stood there until Luna's voice suddenly magically boomed: "And Hufflepuff has caught the Snitch!"

* * *

_A bit short, but plenty of drama and action, if I may say so :)_

_Now, about last week's forgotten update: no idea what happened. You would think that after 75 chapters, I would have gotten the hang of fanfiction and know how to deal with it. That doesn't seem to be the case. I had uploaded the chapter, but in my hurry (though I could have sworn I did it) not clicked the publish-button...._

_But, well, you have it this week.... :)_

_As always, thanks to loveisthegreatestmagic, with whom I finally made some contact again, after the weird ways the internet sometimes work.... Good luck with your exams! I'm sure you'll do great!_

_As for the readers: I'm sorry I haven't replied to all of the reviews! I've been quite busy and I got so much of them lately that I can't reply to them all anymore... However, once it will get slower around here, I will reply to them, even to the old ones...So keep sending them! This is btw the 76th chapter, which means that we only have 24 chapters ahead of us! And then to think that the first chapter I wrote for this story still hasn't come up yet....Tell me what you like/don't like about this story so far.... Even though I don't have a lot of time, I have always time to read good feedback!_

_Next up: A very pissed Ginny, doing a few illegal things. _

_x-mokimik-x_


	77. About rowing again and hexing

_If I were JK, I wouldn't have felt rich when i got 20 euro's for tutoring. I would BE rich._

**77. (About rowing (again) and hexing)****  
**"Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude."  
William James

"What do you mean I shouldn't be this upset?"  
"Ginny, Harry's been injured before! It's part of the risk that comes with being a Seeker."  
They were sitting in the common room after the disastrous match. Dean had tried to liven things up a bit, but Ginny really wasn't in the mood.  
"Dean, this had nothing to do with Harry being a Seeker! McLaggen shouldn't have taken that bat," Hermione tried, but Dean shook his head.  
"I know, but that just happened. Besides, Hermione, even you have to admit that it looked pretty funny," he added grinning. (you don't need this but it adds a bit more description)  
After that comment, Ginny stood up.  
"I can't believe my ears," she said, and walked towards the portrait hole.  
"Ginny!" Dean called after her, but she shook her head and turned around.  
"I wonder if you could laugh that much if you had a cracked skull, Dean. I'm going to find McLaggen, just as Peakes, Demelza and Coote (it seems a little weird for Ginny to refer to Demelza by her first name and the boys by their surnames. Their first names are Jimmy and Ritchie if you want to use them) are doing. At least they've got some team-spirit."  
The common room fell silent. Dean didn't say another word and turned around, just as Ginny walked out.  
She had been surprised by her panic when she had seen Harry fall, but that had been nothing compared to her anger. McLaggen hadn't shown his ugly face since the match, but she really wasn't planning to search for him now. She would get him later, at the moment he would think that she had forgotten and forgiven him. Instead, as if automatically, her feet walked towards the hospital wing.  
"Hey Ginny," Ron greeted her, but Ginny didn't look at him, instead she stared at the still unconscious face of the Boy-Who-Lived.  
"Has he woken up yet?"  
"No. Pomfrey said that the quicker he does, the better, but still no sign of life," her brother said, a bit worried. "What exactly happened, Ginny?"  
Ginny took a breath to start. Ron must've heard a lot from the commentary and what Hermione had told him immediately after the match, but still probably hadn't heard the whole story. Tearing her eyes away from Harry, she focused on Ron and started:  
"McLaggen was playing really lousy. He didn't save the Quaffle once, and made stupid comments towards the others the whole time. Then he grabbed hold of the bat from Peakes, to show him how he could best hit a Bludger, but he missed and hit Harry instead. Coote and Peakes could grab Harry before he fell to the ground. In the meantime, Madam Hooch hadn't blown on her whistle. Smith kept making goals, even though our whole team was on the ground, and eventually their seeker caught the Snitch. If I heard correctly from Dean, the final score was three hundred and twenty to sixty."  
Ron groaned and fell back onto his cushions. "So Harry actually got hit by one of his own players? He won't be happy with that…."  
"Well, none of us are!" she flared up. "The rest of the team is searching for McLaggen, who doesn't dare show his ugly face anymore."  
Ron grinned. "You've got a punishment in mind for him, haven't you?"  
"Enough. I think I might have to write a letter to Fred and George explaining what happened and why I need some of their supplies. Or maybe I could pay a visit to Malfoy. If Harry is right about him being a Death Eater, he probably knows some nasty little spells to put on McLaggen too."  
Ron started to chuckle. Ginny could see that he didn't mind that much that McLaggen had messed up their match. She suddenly remembered something.  
"Do you know why Harry was so late coming to the changing rooms?"  
"He was?" Ron frowned. "I don't know why. He left here early enough."  
"He said he bumped into Malfoy and wanted to find out what he was up to. But that can't be true, right? Harry wouldn't choose Malfoy over Quidditch, would he?"  
Ron looked pensive. "I don't know. Hermione says she's worried about his obsession over Malfoy. Maybe that could actually be the real reason why he was late."  
A silence fell, and Ginny stared at Harry. (she can't stare back because Harry isn't staring at her) A tiny wave of panic overcame her again. Somehow it hurt her to see him lying like this. It gave her a feeling of hopelessness. She knew he wasn't dead: Harry only had a cracked skull. Madam Pomfrey had already mended it, and he would wake up in a few hours. But still; what if McLaggen had hit Harry's neck? She shuddered.  
"I think I'm going back to the common room," she said. She wasn't looking forward to a second round of her fight with Dean, but the sooner it was out of the way, the better. And if Dean still found it funny, she would advise him to visit the hospital Wing as well. To take a look at Harry and also to get rid of that nasty rash she would've hexed him with.  
"Okay then. Say 'hi' to Hermione for me," Ron said.  
"What about Lavender?"  
"Oh yeah, her too."  
Ginny grinned and shook her head.

When she arrived at the 5th floor, she suddenly heard some noise. It was a tune, and it was coming from the nearest boys' bathroom. She would recognize that annoying whistle anywhere: the newest song by the Hobgoblins. As if entranced, she walked towards the door and opened it quietly. Yep, there he was. McLaggen, still in his Quidditch robes, stood near the sink, looking at himself in the mirror. His broom was standing in a corner and, on the side of the second sink, a Quidditch magazine lay open.  
Clearly he had been hiding in here since the end of the match.  
And he was whistling as if nothing had happened. He was actually whistling.  
Softly, she closed the door. If the guy wanted to hide in a bathroom, then that would be exactly what he would do for the next couple of hours, or perhaps days.  
With a soft tap on the doorknob and a whisper of "Colloportus," the door sealed itself from the outside. It made a squelching sound, but McLaggen seemed to be whistling too loudly to hear it. That brought on some other ideas. Grabbing a piece of parchment and a quill from her pockets, she quickly wrote 'closed due to plumber problems'. (It should be plumbing but I like that the idea that Ginny got the term wrong as she isn't used to muggle things. If that wasn't your intention then you can change it.) Then, bewitching the parchment with engorgio and a permanent sticking charm, she hung it on the sealed door. However, the whistle was still audible. An imperturbable Charm did the trick. She remembered how she had learned that one by looking how Tonks always did it before the meetings of the Order in Grimmauld Place. It felt oddly satisfying to use a spell she wasn't supposed to know in a situation she wasn't supposed to create. It was now quiet in the corridor and, quite happy about her revenge, Ginny started to whistle herself. A different tune to McLaggen though; she preferred the Weird Sisters to the Hobgoblins.

It wouldn't be until the following Sunday, late in the afternoon, that one of the ghost would accidentally fly into the "out-of-order" bathroom, alerting Filch that there was a boy locked up inside. It wouldn't be until Monday, really early in the morning, that Filch would relinquish his pride to ask another staff member to undo all the charms on the door. By then, McLaggen and his whistle had been reduced to a spineless puddle of hunger, fearing that the person who had done this to him would come back for a second strike.

* * *

_Edited version-added later :)_


	78. About delighting and loving

_If I were JK Rowling, I wouldn't be so extremely tired because I had crew-matches the whole weekend...._

**7****8. (About delighting and loving)**

"There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love."

When by Monday, both Ron and Harry were released from the hospital wing, Hermione couldn't be happier. After so many months of strife, things finally seemed to be in order. They walked together to breakfast, not bothered by a certain annoying girlfriend, and Hermione happily chatted.  
"Not much has happened since the game, Harry," she informed him. "No one blames you, or your other team members, everyone knows it was McLaggen's fault. Though it seems as if he has disappeared from the earth," she told him. Both Ron and Harry looked happy about that. And then, just to tease Harry a bit, she added: "The only thing that did arouse some attention was a fight between Ginny and Dean on Saturday." To Hermione's delight, she saw that he immediately looked up.  
"What did they row about?"  
Hermione didn't answer immediately. A girl had just dropped her scales and looked terrified at them.  
"It's all right!" said Hermione kindly, hurrying forwards to help her. "Here…_Reparo_." The girl didn't say thank you, but remained rooted to the spot from fright at the sight of the Chosen One and two prefects.  
"I swear they're getting smaller," Ron commented, as he looked behind when they had passed.  
"Never mind her," said Harry, a little impatiently. "What did Ginny and Dean row about, Hermione?" Hermione could barely conceal a laugh and tried to answer neutrally:  
"Oh, Dean was laughing about McLaggen hitting that Bludger at you."  
"It must've looked funny," said Ron reasonably.  
Hermione stared at him with disbelief. "It didn't look funny at all! It looked terrible, and if Coote and Peakes hadn't caught Harry he could have been very badly hurt!" Ron shrugged his shoulders and looked apologetic. Hermione nodded as if she forgave him. He hadn't seen it happen after all and had only heard the weird comments Luna had given.  
"Yeah well, there was no need for Ginny and Dean to split up over it," Harry tried to bring the original subject back. "Or are they still together?"  
"Yes, they are — but why are you so interested?"  
To her delight she saw that her friend blushed a little. "I just don't want my Quidditch team messed up again!" he quickly looked away and Hermione now grinned. She really got too much pleasure out of this. She should actually feel sad for Harry: it was just a bit too ironic that now Ginny seemed to be completely over him, he had started to like her.  
"Harry!" Luna ran after them and they looked up.  
"Oh, hi, Luna."  
"I went to the hospital wing to find you," said Luna, rummaging in her bag. "But they said you'd left..."

When Harry left that night for his lesson with Dumbledore, Hermione found herself in the library with Ron. She had been surprised that he had suggested to sit there at first, but had figured out the reason soon enough. Every time a girl passed, Ron hid himself behind the stack of books he had in front of them. When he bumped his head hard during the fourth duck, Hermione couldn't help but grin a bit, and comment, "It's not Lavender."  
Ron went a bit red, but didn't say anything. This only made Hermione's mood improve. If Ron was willing to hide in the library, things mustn't have been well between those two. And even though she would never admit it out loud, every sign of a break up between Won-Won and Lav-Lav would sound like music to her ears.

A happy week slowly passed. McLaggen had been found on Monday morning, just after the first lessons, and, as soon as the word spread, Madam Pomfrey had to close the hospital wing off because vengeful Gryffindors kept pulling tricks on him. Hermione overheard Ginny on Tuesday morning telling Ron how she had been the one who had locked McLaggen up. Instead of reprimanding her, like a prefect (and a big brother) should've done, Ron had given her two thumbs up and a proud clap on her shoulder when he had walked off.  
Meanwhile, Harry had other things on his mind. He had told Ron and Hermione how disappointed Dumbledore had been. Hermione could tell that Harry really felt guilty for not getting information out of Slughorn. She had seen him going to the library as if there would be a book that would give him tips on how to extract a memory from a non-willing person and, on Sunday, she saw him pouring over the Prince-book, as if it held all the answers. This annoyed her again. She now knew that Harry and Ron liked her for more than her brains, but she still felt uneasy about the book. It was as if it reminded her of the unhappy months this year.  
"You won't find anything in there," she couldn't help but say.  
"Don't start, Hermione," said Harry. "If it hadn't been for the Prince, Ron wouldn't be sitting here now."  
"He would if you'd just listened to Snape in our first year," she replied, though that had been a lie. Even she had difficulty remembering exactly what Snape had said in their first year, she just knew he had said something about a bezoar since she had looked it up recently. Harry ignored her and folded the corner of a certain page in the book. Hermione sighed and looked at Ron. He looked stressed. Earlier, she had seen him panic over the recent note on the board, which had proclaimed some extra Apparition-lessons in Hogsmeade next weekend. He was now furiously scribbling on his parchment, trying to finish an essay for Snape.  
The sound of rustling pages brought her back to Harry, who still had his nose in the Prince's book.  
"I'm telling you, the stupid Prince isn't going to be able to help you with this, Harry!" said Hermione, more loudly. "There's only one way to force someone to do what you want, and that's the Imperius Curse, which is illegal —" she started.  
"Yeah, I know that, thanks. That's why I'm looking for something different. Dumbledore says  
Veritaserum won't do it, but there might be something else, a potion or a spell…"  
She shook her head, but Harry didn't see it. She had already told him that there wouldn't be another spell: as a matter of fact, she had already searched the library for him. Twice.  
"You're going about it the wrong way. Only you can get the memory, Dumbledore says. That must mean you can persuade Slughorn where other people can't. It's not a question of slipping him a potion, anyone could do that —"  
Ron interrupted her before she could talk further about the special bond Harry's mum and Slughorn must've had and how to use that to his advantage.  
"How d'you spell 'belligerent'? It can't be B-U-M-" that caught her attention and she took his essay.  
"No, it isn't. And 'augury' doesn't begin O-R-G either. What kind of quill are you using?" Ron cringed under her stare.  
"It's one of Fred and George's Spell-Check ones…but I think the charm must be wearing off…" he said as she checked further.  
"Yes, it must," Hermione replied, barely concealing a smile, "because we were asked how we'd deal with Dementors, not 'Dugbogs', and I don't remember you changing your name to 'Roonil Wazlib' either."  
"Ah, no! Don't say I'll have to write the whole thing out again!"  
For a small moment, Hermione wanted to let Ron still pay for what he had done to her, but then she remembered the birds from a while back and softened, actually feeling a bit guilty.  
"It's OK, we can fix it." She took out her wand and looked at Ron, who looked relieved.  
"I love you, Hermione," his reply came fast. Hermione thought that, for a moment, her heart stopped beating. She looked up in amazement and saw that Ron looked pink, but was staring back at her with a determined look on his face.

She would have been happy with just being friends, really. But Ron had done it again. With only a few words, another dam had cracked inside her, and the butterflies swirling inside her stomach were back. She could only squeak out: "Don't let Lavender hear you saying that," before averting her eyes.  
"I won't," came the disappointing reply, but then it was followed by: "Or maybe I will…then she'll ditch me…" She still felt his eyes on her and focused on her spellwork in front of her.  
"Why don't you ditch her if you want to finish it?" asked Harry. Hermione flinched: she had forgotten he was here.  
"You haven't ever chucked anyone, have you? You and Cho just —"  
"Sort of fell apart, yeah," said Harry.  
"Wish that would happen with me and Lavender. But the more I hint I want to finish it, the tighter she holds on. It's like going out with the Giant Squid."  
She was glad her hair concealed her face, for a huge grin was visible on her face for a few moments. Even though Ron was actually a bit of a coward by not breaking it off with Lavender personally, Hermione found him braver then she had ever been in her own life. Ron had said what she had never dared: I love you.

* * *

_Now, I don't actually like this chapter, because it's mainly out of the books, but it had to be told, for continuity's sake. However, it's unedited, and a week too late, so I don't expect you guys to be thrilled about either... Or at least I'm not happy about it...._

_Anyway, loveisthegreatestmagic HAS already edited it, but due to technical mail-issues we are unable to send it to each other... that's why I will thank her already :) (the version you've just read is the updated one... 14-6-2009)_

_Also many thanks to the reviewers! I swear, once my finals and essay-due-dates are over, you will get replies from me, even though by then you probably don't know what you had asked..._

_next up: quite a long chapter about the extra apparation-class in Hogsmeade...._

_Keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	79. About practising and appararating ?

_If I were JK,I wouldn't have had so many problems with uploading my chapters... people would actually do that for me...._

**79. (About disapparating and side-along (?) apparating)**

"You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back."  
Barbara De Angelis

"Now, you all know what to do: destination, determination, deliberation. I expect to find you all in a few moments at the end of this street, near Madam Puddifoot's. Those of you who fail to Apparate properly should also meet us at the end of the street; just on foot or call for help from one of your teachers or me if you are unable to move. Ready? Prepare! One, two, three!"  
Hermione felt herself spin on the spot, her body felt for a moment like it was being pushed trough a tight hole, and when she opened her eyes again she was standing next to Twycross again only this time at the other end of the street.  
"Well done! That was perfect! I have to say that you are quite the natural, Miss…?"  
"Granger, sir, my name is Hermione Granger," she filled him in. Twycross nodded and his beard and hair wobbled. From the post office, where they had started, Ron came running towards them.  
"Still no luck?" she asked him with a sad face.  
He shook his head glumly. "I just can't seem to vanish…"  
"It's not vanishing, as it is more a sort of vaporizing…." Ron looked even more puzzled.  
They all walked back to the post office to try it again. Not all the 6th years had come today. Of course there were the people like Harry, who weren't old enough, but some others had been forbidden by their parents to go to Hogsmeade and a few even liked the idea of a free Saturday, without the feeling that your head got squashed every minute or so. Lavender had been one of the people who hadn't come. Hermione couldn't care less what her reason had been, but also couldn't be happier. She and Ron were finally alone in Hogsmeade.  
If you ignored the other 6th years. And Twycross. And the teachers. And the Ministry-people who were swarming around, looking serious, as if they were their personal Aurors.  
However, when Ron walked next to her, told her jokes and even brushed her hand, Hermione found it rather easy to ignore everyone around her but him.  
"I mean, I didn't even splinch!"  
"Well, be glad for that, mister! Splinching can be very painful! Just ask Miss Bones," Twycross cut in before Hermione could reply. He nodded to Susan, whose hands were waving at Madam Puddifoot's, while the rest of her body was still standing at the post office. "Just take an example from your lovely friend here, Miss Granger. A perfect Apparitionist, if I may say so."  
Hermione felt herself blush and smiled at the little man, who now stood in the centre of a circle of 6th years near the post office.  
"So when's the wedding?" Ron teased.  
"Oh, shut up."  
"Well, apparently I have to shut up, since I have to learn how to Apparate from you." She snorted, but he took her arm and looked at her. "No, seriously. How do you do it?"  
"Well," she started softly, as Twycross was prepping them up for another go, "you have to be relaxed first."  
"And how am I going to do that?" he asked.  
"Loosen up your shoulders." In an upwelling, she placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed them towards the ground. Hermione felt that there were all sorts of bells tinkling inside of her. For instance, Ron now stood far too close.  
"And then?" his voice sounded far too soft.  
"You think were you want to end-" for some reason, she had difficulties with looking at his eyes. His lips were far more interesting.  
"Yes…"  
"And then you think about how you are going to move from one place to another..." her voice sounded hoarse. When had Ron's hands traveled from his side to her waist?  
"Is everybody ready?" Twycross suddenly cut in.  
"One…." In order for them to apparate, they needed to let each other go. However, Hermione actually preferred this -whatever this was, or meant- above Apparating.  
"Two…" Was it just her imagination, or were they now standing even closer? No…wait, Ron's head was moving closer…as were his lips….she closed her eyes…  
"Three!"  
Without thinking, she was suddenly apparating. Her head squeezed and when her eyes opened again, they were standing in a different place. To be more correct, at the exact spot they needed to be.  
She immediately let go of Ron when she saw he was still standing so close to her, as if she had received an electrical shock from him.  
"Did we..?" somehow, Hermione thought for a split second that Ron wanted to say "kiss", but then tied the knots together and answered: "I didn't do anything. I think you apparated yourself…"  
"So it wasn't side-along?" a grin appeared on his face.  
"Only one way to find out," she smiled, and they ran back to try it again, this time, separately.

True, Ron hadn't apparated as correctly as that first time with her. And true, the drink in the 3 broomsticks wasn't as much fun as Hermione had wanted it to be since Ron was rather distracted by the bar-maid and Twycross kept praising her. And true, Hermione knew that once in the castle, Ron was still too much of a chicken to break up with his girlfriend.  
But she still had the feeling that this could count as a date.

Ron focused his attention back on her on their way back to said castle, but that was only until someone came running towards them and flung herself over Ron.  
"I missed you so much!"  
"Hi Lavender," Ron replied, while his ears went red.  
Immediately, Hermione felt stupid. How could she have ever thought Ron might like her again? He was still with that tart. She was just letting him use her, as a sort of spare girl he would have around when the other one wasn't near. As if automatically, she quickened her pace.  
"Hermione!" he called, but she didn't look back and took a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table. Still fuming a little she started to release her anger on her croissant. But to her surprise, Ron came to sit next with her very quickly. His ears still red, he mumbled: "I've tried to break it off, but as I said before, she just doesn't get the message. I mean, if I said: "I don't think this is working," she would answer that the next time she would come along to Hogsmeade if being separate upsets me so much."  
For a moment she was ready to glare him down, to start to ignore him again. But then she just got the giggles.  
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked unsure.  
She just giggled. Strange, how long she hadn't done that. It was just so funny to see Ron's face… he was… he was finally coming to his senses. That was at least something; finally seeing that Lavender was a stupid tart. It felt so… liberating…  
At that moment, Harry walked up to them. Ron started to tell him enthusiastically that he had apparated, but to her surprise, he didn't tell him anything about what might have been Side-along-Apparition… or not. Had he felt it then too?

When Harry told them about Tonks, Hermione immediately felt concerned. On Dumbledore's orders or not, Tonks had helped her a great deal last holidays.  
"If you ask me," was Ron's reply, "she's cracking up a bit. Losing her nerve after what happened at the Ministry."  
"It's a bit odd. She's supposed to be guarding the school, why she suddenly abandoning her post to come and see Dumbledore when he's not even here?" she asked and glared at Ron for his insensitivity.  
"I had a thought." The way Harry said it, made Hermione look up."You don't think she can have been... you know... in love with Sirius?"  
She couldn't help but stare at him. Harry's suggestion would explain a lot, but Sirius and Tonks had been cousins. Not to mention that Sirius had been away for more than 12 years. When would she have fallen in love? Before, or after she had been so busy with the Order while Sirius had been locked up in his own house?  
"What on earth makes you say that?"

"I dunno," said Harry, shrugging, "but she was nearly crying when I mentioned his name, and her Patronus is a big four-legged thing now. I wondered whether it hadn't become... you know... him."  
That was rather strange…  
"It's a thought. But I still don't know why she'd be bursting into the castle to see Dumbledore, if that's really why she was here."  
"Goes back to what I said, doesn't it?" said Ron, with his mouth full of mashed potato. "She's gone a bit funny. Lost her nerve. Women," he said wisely to Harry, "they're easily upset."  
Hermione saw that there was a smile playing around his lips and he was mentioning her fury when Lavender had turned up moments before. Fine, if he wanted to play it that way…  
"And yet, I doubt you'd find a woman who sulked for half an hour because Madam Rosmerta didn't laugh at their joke about the hag, the Healer, and the Mimbulus mimbletonia."

* * *

_Hi there... _

_I'm sorry I haven't updated for so long: My finals started, my computer broke down and somehow, my e-mail is blocking the mails from my beta...:S I'm not kidding, guys, this really all happened. _

_Anyway, I've got a new computer, I only have to write a huge essay about the Twelve Year's Truce between the Dutch and the Spanish and Englands take on all the matters in 1609, (I'm a history-student, if you were wondering...) and the mail problems aren't fixed, but we found a temporary way to mail each other the chapters..._

_I hope you liked the latest chapter! We're near the end of the story... My goal was to finish this story before the movie came out.. I'm afraid I won't make that... so let's say it will be finished once HP6 is on dvd, okay? _

_As always, thanks for editing loveisthegreatestmagic!_

_For comments, questions and other things: leave a review! I will also go trough the 212 unopened reviews from the last chapters... if you've had questions before: beware! I might actually finally answer them! _

_keep reading!_

_x-mokimik-x_


	80. About rowing and finally breaking up

_If I were JK, I wouldn't be posting this late because I celebrated my 20th birthday last monday... I would already be in my 40's...._

**80. (About rowing and finally breaking up)**

"The greatest conflicts are not between two people but between one person and himself."

_Garth Brooks _

They had made up again, and Ginny was enjoying the nice April weather under a tree, lying on Dean's stomach. However, she couldn't really relax. The situation between Dean and herself bugged her.  
Rowing, making up, rowing, making up…. She had the feeling that this was all they were doing lately. Since when had her fun with Dean been diminished to an endless row? When had her relationship become a drag?  
She had talked it over with Hermione. The girl seemed to be in such a good mood that even her advice had seemed happy and reassuring. According to her, she and Dean were just getting trough a rough period. With her OWLs coming up and the stress from what was happening outside the walls of Hogwarts -only yesterday had there been another family found dead in their house-it was logical that they both were short-tempered. But Ginny wasn't so sure that Hermione was right. The truth was that Dean saw her as a desperate little person. He had slowly started to treat her like everybody else in her surroundings did: as a little girl, a little sister, that needed help with everything.  
She thought back to their conversation from just a few moments ago. He had been claiming that he was, with all good intentions, protecting her. If she believed Dean, she had to stop the tutoring with Neville, because clearly he was flirting. If she believed him, he was just worried for her when all those Slytherin boys teased her, so that was why he had hexed them for her, just a few days ago. If she believed him, he didn't want her to get hurt.  
She believed that last thing but, at the same time, she knew that she wasn't in need of a protector or a hero. She had needed one of those in her first year. After that, she had built up her wit, her spellwork and the art of knowing when to take care of herself. She, quite literally in her fourth year, during the DA-lessons, had learned from her hero and applied it to herself.  
However, when would the world learn that she had changed?  
She knew that she hadn't convinced Dean to stop suffocating her. It was only a matter of time before they would start to fight again.

That time came sooner than she had thought. When they walked back from dinner that evening, and Dean gave her a slight push towards the portrait hole, something just snapped in Ginny.  
"Don't push me, please, Dean."  
"I didn't push you. Not this again Ginny!"  
"Yes you did. You're always aiding me with things that I don't need your help with! I've just told you this afternoon: I'm not eleven, nor your grandmother, am I?"  
"I didn't push you into the bloody portrait hole!"  
"Yes you did!"  
"Even if I did it, I don't get it. What's so wrong with helping you?" he now hissed. They had walked into the common room and sat in the nearest chair available. "Isn't that what boyfriends are for? It's not as if you say 'no' when I'm helping you study for your OWLs."  
He grinned in a way that had charmed Ginny the first couple of months and had even decided in the first place for her to fancy him. Now, it suddenly seemed too cocky and arrogant. She really started to get annoyed and when he reached out to stroke her arm, and nonverbally made her sit next to him in a chair, she pushed his hand away.  
"Well, if you think we should be a couple who helps each other as if we're both eighty years old, I guess I should also start to tutor you on your aiming skills with scoring goals," she retorted sarcastically. She couldn't help it. For the whole afternoon, she had listened and tried to be reasonable, but if Dean thought he could just waltz over her again once they had made up, he was wrong this time. The cocky smile froze and disappeared.  
"There is nothing wrong with my aiming!" Dean whispered hotly.  
"Yes there is! It isn't improving, as Harry pointed out last training. I was there, remember?"  
Ginny had definitely hit a nerve. Not only had she mentioned something about her being better at Quidditch, a fact they both had taboo-ed ever since Dean had replaced Katie, but the Boy-Who-Lived's name had been mentioned. They both hadn't talked about Harry since Dean had laughed when Harry had been hit by McLaggen. That particular fight had just been forgotten…. But apparently not forgiven…  
"That's it. What's the matter with you, lately?" he asked, clearly **.  
"What do you mean?" She knew that this was repeating their make-up this afternoon, but only now they were both angry, and not willing to make compromises.  
"You've been refusing help…" (either use … or - but it's best not to mix the two)  
"Only help that I don't need, like walking through a portrait hole properly..."  
"…you act all edgy and irritated…"  
"…only when you ask stupid questions or make annoying remarks...."  
"…and everything I say, you basically fire back at me!"  
"You heard that Harry said that your aiming wasn't good!" they were getting quite some attention now, but while Ginny was focused on her fight, she couldn't help but hear that she wasn't the only one raising her voice in the common room.  
"O, excuse me. I almost forgot to mention Harry! Apparently, you think he's the newest Saint around here!" Dean hissed.  
"Well, if refusing to laugh at the fact that he got a bludger whacked at his head by one of his team mates means that I think he's a Saint, then yes, Dean, I do indeed think our Captain is a Saint! At least he doesn't think I need help with every bump in the corridor. He knows I can manage myself on and off the field! And so should you!"  
"Well, that just means he's stupid! He especially should know that he should be near you to save you!"  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Her stomach felt cold, as if it was foreboding a huge mental slap in her face.  
"Tell me.... written in any diaries lately? Killed any chickens?"  
Ginny should have remembered that her stomach was always right. After a few months of intimacy with Dean, she had started opening up to him. The things he now said had been told by herself, out of trust.  
"That's low, Dean." She felt a lump in her throat.  
"Though he would probably love to save you again! Just the two of you, in a dark basement..."  
That flared her up.  
"Oh, so besides Neville, who tutors me, and Colin, who sits next to me, Harry's out to steal me away from you too?  
"Have you seen the way he looks at you during trainings?"  
"Dean, this is pathetic. You are so possessive! Tell me, do you buy possessiveness and 'helping' separately or do you get one free when buying the first package?" She actually made air quote-signs and Dean should have known that she was only seconds away from laughing at him in his face. After he mentioned the diary, Ginny didn't even feel like trying to make this work again.  
"Ginny I'm not kidding!"  
"Dean, I'm the one who's not kidding! I don't know if I have to walk away out of anger, or just laugh at you for your stupid ideas! Do you really think that I can't take care of myself? That I will just let you make fun of what happened to me in my first year and do nothing about it? The one who is trying to posses me isn't Voldemort; it's you!" Dean gulped at the name, but continued to look furious. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ginny went on.  
"You know what? Please continue 'fussing' and 'possessing' and 'helping', but do it on someone else, because I've had enough of it. We're done!"  
A silence fell between them, in which Ginny could hear a shrill voice of a girl. However, she remained focused on Dean. He looked as if he wanted to give a very long reply, probably containing a lot of swearwords, but when he finally spoke, it was in a cold voice and the only thing he said was: "Fine. Goodbye Ginny." He then took his bag and stood up, leaving Ginny alone.  
Just to have something in her hands, she grabbed a book out of her own bag and pretended to read. But she wasn't reading. She was enjoying the feeling of finally being free again.

* * *

_Tadaaah! It took Dean and Ginny a loooong time to get to this point, but finally they've broken up! :) Sorry I haven't updated on the regular monday-time, but I was too busy with becoming 20... :)_

_Hope you guys keep reading... only 20 more chapters to go!_

_Next up: another couple breaks up too... and Hermione's there to watch it...._

_x-mokimik-x_


	81. About screaming and also breaking up

_If I were JK, I wouldn't be rowing and just be done with the season. I also wouldn't have had a hangover from the party last night. _

**81****. (About breaking and screaming)**

"The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings."

_proverb_

After Harry left under his Invisibility Cloak, Ron nudged Hermione's arm, while they were descending the stairs from the boys' dormitories.

"Do you think he's gone mental? Why would he want to go to Hagrid's place when he has to get that memory?"

Hermione looked at his concerned face. It had only been this morning that the brain behind that face (not the brain you would expect it to come from) had found a way to finally get the memory out of Slughorn.

It had been this afternoon, that that same face had looked in pain, when Ron had splinched his eyebrow off. Or, as Ron himself said, his face disappointed: "Half an eyebrow."

And now, as they were both walking down the stairs, Ron's face seemed sincere in being concerned for Harry.

"Well, I think we have two possibilities. The first one could be that the Felix Felicis was foul, or poisoned..... But Harry didn't drop dead, did he?" she added hastily when Ron's eyes lit up in panic. "The other possibility could be that Harry's right: the potion controls him. And how can you go against luck?"

She made him smile. The bells and alarms inside of her were tinkling again.

Apparently, someone else's insides had tinkled too, at the sight of her and Ron.

"What were you doing up there with _her_?"

Ron's smile vanished and he turned towards the person he had tried to avoid for the last few days. Hermione couldn't stop thinking how wonderful it would have been if Ron had been better at avoiding her. Or at least until she herself wasn't standing next to him. It felt as if both of them were suddenly standing in a spotlight, as the whole common room had looked up. Lavender stood several stairs and a few yards away from the both of them. Suddenly, Hermione noticed that it must indeed look a bit too dodgy from the girl's point of view, and Hermione started to blush at the thought of what exactly Lavender would think they had been doing upstairs. That, however, didn't help matters and she received one of the deadliest glares she had ever received, before the girl's attention was back on her boyfriend.

"Lavender, hi! We.... ehm..... we were just...."

Part of Hermione would have liked to keep up the paranoid nightmare Lavender was currently having. After all, Lavender had made hers real when she told Parvati until three in the morning in the dormitory about how Ron had kissed her senseless during that fateful Quidditch-party. But as much as Hermione's insides screamed for the break-up she had been hoping for since the day that this relation had started, she couldn't bear to see Ron so flustered and helpless. Ron was a bad liar, and if she didn't help him soon, he might even give Harry away.

"We were looking for Harry," she said quickly. "Have you seen him?"

That last comment, which had been delivered to Lavender, received another glare.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me," Lavender hissed at her. "This is between me and my _boyfriend_."

"We were! He disappeared after dinner. As prefects and friends, we wanted to..." But Lavender cut Ron off.

"Why couldn't you look alone? Why did _she_ have to come with you? You're always with _her,_ even while you perfectly know what I think of _her_."

Hermione started to shift. Besides the fact that she had been dragged into something she knew was going to get ugly, she somehow heard a hallelujah-quire in her head. She got it all in one night: a break-up and Lavender making a fool out of herself in front of the whole common room.

"Lavender, she's just...."

"Oh, please Ron, I'm not stupid. I know what friends are, and _she_," (Hermione wondered if Lavender could speak her name for once, instead of saying the words "she" and "her" as if there was supposed to be standing in for the word "prostitute") "is not your friend!!"

"Excuse me?" Ron was still trying to keep the space between him and his girlfriend as large as possible, but for a moment he stopped looking like a mouse that felt trapped. He was now staring at Lavender in utter bewilderment.

"Oh, please! Everyone can see it Ron! You two don't act normally around each other! You are always quarrelling, or fighting, or not speaking to each other! It's not normal! Do you do that with Harry too?"

"No, but..." But Lavender cut Ron off again, pretending she didn't hear his answer to her rhetorical question.

"I told you, _she_ has a _bad influence_ on you," Lavender said, in a stage-whisper, as if Hermione (and the rest of the common room) wasn't supposed to be hearing this.

Strangely enough, Hermione didn't feel that appalled. It wasn't as if she hadn't had any other cross words thrown at her, and the glare Lavender had given her lately had spoken for itself. Ron however, did.

"Lavender, Hermione is the sole reason that I passed my OWL's and am now in the 6th year of Hogwarts! How could that be considered a bad influence?" Hermione actually turned crimson upon hearing those words. Praising her wasn't a very smart move Ron made. However, he didn't give Lavender the chance to interrupt him and continued;

"No, you listen to me. Who was there to lend me her copies of all her notes in first year, even though I was a complete prat for most of the time? Who gave me a pile, just as high as Harry's Firebolt in 5th year, with facts about History of Magic? Who helped me with my Apparition?"

"I did!"

"No, Lavender, you told me that it would be alright, that I could do anything and then you started to distract me by beginning to talk about Quidditch! Hermione told me that I could do anything, but would have to study hard for it! And then I haven't even started about the times she has helped Harry and me with.... other stuff!"

The last sentence came out lame, but Hermione felt her face glow anyway. It was nice to hear from time to time from your friends that they needed you, even though they had a Potions book lying around that seemed to be smarter than you.

Lavender was crying a bit now. There were some whisperings in the audience…-wait- common room.

"If she's so fantastic, why don't you date her? You have already allowed her in there-" she pointed at Ron's chest- "for all I know you could have already had an affair!"

Even though the suggestion had made the both of them shine in an even deeper shade of red, Hermione couldn't restrain herself from rolling her eyes. You could leave it to Lavender to play an excellent Drama-Queen. Ron shook his head, a bit cautiously because of the tears. Lavender started to rant again.

"But she is playing tricks with you! She's obsessed with attention! That girl is only interested in you when you are standing in the spotlight! When you got poisoned, you suddenly got interesting again!"

"Shut your mouth, Lavender! You have absolutely no right to tell me that about a friend who's been around for more than 5 years! She knows me at least well enough to not buy me ugly jewellery!" Ron's eyes were blazing, and he was actually stepping in front of Hermione, as if he was afraid that Lavender would attack her. (that sounds okay but it might be more romantic to put 'as if he was trying to shield her from Lavender's harsh words' to emphasise the fact that he is trying to protect Hermione)

That last comment seemed to snap Lavender.

"We're done!" she screeched. Hermione could have invented it, but she thought she heard a lot of people sigh contently. Then it got quiet and both Ron and Lavender looked around, noticing for the first time they had had an audience.

Without saying anything further, she stormed up the girls' dormitories and slammed the door.

As if nothing had happened, Ron walked towards a couch and sat down on it. The common room seemed to think that the fun was over, as people began to resume normal conversation. Hermione followed Ron and sat across from him, in an armchair.

"Glad that's done," she heard him mumble. She silently agreed. Deep inside a feeling of gratitude came up. Ron had defended her and she wanted to thank him, to mention it. However, it was sort of hard for Hermione to start to talk about what had just happened. It was a bit awkward.

Just as she had opened her mouth to speak, Dean walked by, looking furious. Hermione and Ron both looked at him, and heard, after several moments, the door of the dormitory slam. Hermione's eyes found Ginny, sitting across the room in an armchair, pretending to read, but looking too satisfied to actually be reading. Only she herself could look so satisfied while reading. Would Ginny perhaps…?

"I think I have to start on that Defence-essay, then," Ron interrupted her thoughts, sounding really hopeful that she would help. She focused back on him.

"I think you should," Hermione said playfully. He sighed, but she really wanted to hear it from him.

"Will you help me?"

The grin on her face spread. "Of course. But in a minute. I first have to talk to your sister."

"About what?"

"Girl stuff," she replied airily. "Just start without me. My books are over there, so if you want to use them..... Shall we wait for Harry?"

"As if you need to ask that."

He smiled. Their eyes locked, and Hermione noticed that his smile got even wider.

Standing up, she touched his hand a bit longer than necessary. Ron took hers, and gave it a slight squeeze, while now grinning.

* * *

I probably start to sound like an over-played song on the radio, but again, sorry it took 2 weeks for me to update...been a bit busy. Hope you liked the chapter though. It was actually the first chapter I ever wrote for this story. I was planning to make a one-shot, with only this missing scene. The title was "The break-up". However, I had so much fun, that I also included another chapter with Ginny breaking up with dean (Chapter 80 now). Before I knew, I was searching in the whole HBP-book, trying to find missing moments.

Anyway, next up: Hermione enjoys the aftermath of the break-up Ron has had with Lavender, and teases Harry some more..

I hope I can update the next chapter a bit more faster.... what always helps are the reviews :)

x-mokimik-x


	82. About balancing and wondering

**82. (About balancing and wondering)**

"Friendship is love with understanding"

_proverb_

When Harry told them during Charms what he had achieved the previous night, Hermione was sure that everything was slowly turning right again.

"Wow," said Ron, when Harry had finally finished telling them. They were supposed to practice a spell, and to seem busy, he was waving his wand aimlessly. "Wow. You're actually going to go with Dumbledore… and try and destroy… wow." It started to snow around them, but Ron didn't seem to notice.

"Ron, you're making it snow." She grabbed his wrist and pointed his wand back to the table. She heard a sob behind her and, as if burnt, she let Ron go. She wasn't going to be as heartless as Lavender had been herself and flirt with him under her nose. However, Ron had probably never even heard the definition of flirting.

"Oh yeah," said Ron, looking down at his shoulders in vague surprise. "Sorry... looks like we've all got horrible dandruff now. ..." he brushed off some of the fake snow on her shoulders. That move made Hermione somehow forgot about her promise. She didn't care that Ron was tactless to his former girlfriend, of whom she temporarily lost the name, anymore.

Ron looked immensely guilty when Lavender broke down into tears and he told the questioning look from Harry: "We split up, last night. When she saw me coming out of the dormitory with Hermione. Obviously she couldn't see you, so she thought it had just been the two of us."

"Ah." There was a silence. For a moment, Hermione received a shrewd glance from Harry and he said: "Well - you don't mind it's over, do you?"

"No," Ron said immediately. "It was pretty bad while she was yelling, but at least I didn't have to finish it."

"Coward," said Hermione, but she didn't mean it at all. The way Ron told Harry, it looked as if he had done nothing but stand at the receiving end of a yell. When she saw that Harry was still looking at her, with an all-knowing look, she decided to have some fun of her own. Ginny had told her last night all about her break up. "Well, it was a bad night for romance all around. Ginny and Dean split up too, Harry."

As if he were a dog smelling a treat, he looked up.

"How come?"

"Oh, something really silly…She said he was always trying to help her through the portrait hole, like she couldn't climb in herself… but they've been a bit rocky for ages." She saw that he glanced to Dean, a small, happy smile playing around his lips. She remembered how Ginny had worried last night that the chasers would play really lousy because of their break-up. "Of course, this puts you in a bit of a dilemma, doesn't it?"

"What d'you mean?" said Harry quickly.

"The Quidditch team," said Hermione. "If Ginny and Dean aren't speaking..."

"Oh - oh yeah," said Harry.

"Flitwick," said Ron in a warning tone which stopped the conversation.

When Hermione had seen the way Harry told Dean that he wasn't necessary anymore on the team that evening, she knew for sure that Harry was starting to grow madly in love with Ginny. Her instinct was to immediately let the red-head (no, not Ron) know, but she came back on that idea quite soon.

Not only had she been the person who had told Ginny to forget all about Harry, the girl had done so and had moved on. By telling her that he might now liked her again, she almost knew that Ginny would feel angry, for thinking she was a puppet, jumping up and down whenever Hermione and Harry ordered it. Ginny had stopped being a puppet long ago. She would have to figure things out her own way. And she hadn't forgotten the way Ron had acted to her when he had caught Ginny the last time with her boyfriend. Even if it would be Harry next time, she still found it hard to be sure Ron wouldn't blow up again. If she had learned one thing from that, it was that meddling with each other's feelings could blow up in her own face.

Besides, she had more important things to worry about. With May standing in front of the door, it was only one month before the end of year exams would start, and Hermione had never had so many things to do besides her studying.

There were the patrol hours with Ron, which had gotten back to their little flirting game, with him acting nice, and her feeling weak in the knees. Then there was the whole Prince-book she still hated and was determined to search for in the library. Recently, Madam Pince had been so annoyed with her staying so late, the librarian had helped her by pointing to a mountain of old newspapers. Every free moment of her time, Hermione was now searching for anyone with the name Prince, whishing that Accio would be allowed in the library. While picking paper after paper up, she liked to remember that in her 3rd year, she had once suggested the summoning- charm to Madam Pince, who had looked at her as if she were mad and had explained to her with clenched teeth, that the whole restricted section would be of no use, and that students would get hurt when a whole pile of books would be coming at them all at the same time. Not to mention the damage that could be done that way to the books themselves.

She had to stop the tutoring, but that was not because she had been too busy: most of the first and second-years had no troubles anymore with their schoolwork, and the ones that did, she had sent over to Neville. Not only did the boy's own work improve by the sight of those expecting faces, but he seemed to really like it, and she had never seen his self-esteem grow so much.

And then there was the note Dumbledore had given her. There was no doubt that it was bewitched. Once she had finally read all the books that had stood on the list and looked again, she saw that it had completely changed and was now listing twenty different titles. Sighing, she had started to search for those, but to her surprise, a few couldn't be found in the library. She had even asked Madam Pince, and with some spells and her knowledge of the library, she had told Hermione with certainty that there wouldn't be 'such books' in the library, not even in the restricted section. Which gave Hermione a few other questions to ponder on: why did he even put them on the list, if Dumbledore had probably already known the books wouldn't be there? For now, she just ignored them, and had started on the many others.

She had decided not to say anything to Ron and Harry anymore about the book-list. Very slowly, it seemed as if the books were trying to tell her something. As if they were setting out a vague route, just as Dumbledore's personal lessons gave such a route to Harry. This was her personal quest. And Harry and Ron already had their hands full with other things anyway.

The book she was reading currently had also been an odd one on the list, but not in the way the ones she couldn't find had been. It was called; _carpe diem: a few light stories for the heavy heart. _Instead of talking about wars, spells, transfigurations or apparating-moves, this one was about the power of a good night's sleep, of meditation, of happiness. It read as fast as a cheap lady-novel, but Hermione couldn't restrain herself from reading it multiple times, just because the book did exactly as its title said: it made her happier.

When she read it in the Great hall one day, not so long after Harry had achieved the memory of Slughorn, she saw that Harry was trying to pour some gravy over his potatoes, but failed miserably: he was aiming at the table, almost a foot from where his plate was standing. She attended to him, and he finally looked up, noticing.

When a fiery red-head walked by two seconds after that, Hermione didn't have to guess any longer why he was so distracted.

"Say, Hermione," Harry suddenly started. She had, with a knowing smile, tried to read further, but looked up.

"Hm?"

"You wouldn't have gotten any invitations from Slughorn lately, would you?" he asked offhandedly.

Seeing as he was still looking at Ginny, the tone had been a bit too offhanded. All Hermione could do was grin. She couldn't help but love boys.

* * *

_Previously on GHHBP: The author decided that other things in her life were far more interesting than posting a new FF-chapter and quit. However, somewhere in her mind, it kept nagging her that her English was getting bad again (From not practicing) and that she still had this finished (yet un-edited) story in her laptop. All it took was another FF-writer to start again also, and the end of the film series in near sight to start again and finish this one for once and for all! _

_Reviews made me feel guilty. Keep posting them, so I will actually finish this. :P._


	83. About freeing and sparkling

**8****3. (About freeing and sparkling)**

"It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone - but it takes a lifetime to forget someone."

_proverb_

She had never been less sorry to break-up. The days after it, she felt free again, she somehow livened up. As if she had been lying under a stone or had been silenced with a cushion. Dean looked miserable, but Ginny couldn't help that she felt more like a bird set free than guilty of hurting him. After Hermione had walked up to her and explained everything that had happened between Lavender and Ron, she somehow felt as if everything was in balance again. The only thing she worried a bit about was the cooperation between the Chasers, now that she had broken up, but when that had been solved by Katie returning the following day, there was nothing standing in the way between her and her newfound freedom. .

Quidditch training had never been this fun. With McLaggen gone and Katie back, the team was finally as Harry had selected it last September. Ginny had forgotten how easily Katie seemed to fly and pass the Quaffle; it seemed to reflect on the whole team. Demelza was almost acrobatic when it came to avoiding a bludger these days, Peakes and Coote had never hit those same Bludgers so hard and even Ron's self esteem achieved new heights. The captain himself had already been flying perfectly before Katie had come back, but the way Ginny saw it, there was a sparkle in his eyes again. As if he recently had remembered how much fun it was. She had never seen Harry fly so fast, though he seemed to be more distracted sometimes to look at the rest of the team, which resulted in a few Bludger-incidents.

After the 3rd training session with Katie, Harry motioned them all downwards for the after talk.

"That was great- no- excellent! Katie, I can't say it enough: it's so good to have you back!"

"And like I said last time, Harry; it's good to be back," the girl beamed.

"I would say that too, if I had to choose between St. Mungo's and Hogwarts," Ginny replied dryly. It had been a very lame comment, but everybody laughed nonetheless.

"Well, it's fair to say that the team missed you," Ron commented.

"Though Katie wasn't the only one we had to miss. We missed you too, Ron." She nudged her brother and in her best voice, Ginny imitated McLaggen. "Who needs Ron when we have me, the doxy-eggs-eating-lunatic? I mean, we don't even need Potter! Everybody hear my instructions as I let all the goals in and in the meantime hit Harry on the head!"

Ron grinned widely and patted her on her back.

"I will see you all Monday evening again. Go change while I bring the Quaffle and Bludgers back to Madam Hooch's office," Harry told them.

"I'll help," she volunteered. He didn't mind and smiled only more.

"That was a good imitation of McLaggen," he said, while the crate with the used Quidditch supplies was bungling between them.

"Thanks, it was nothing. I mean, why tease my dear brother when we have that dung-bomb strutting around to make fun of?"

Harry laughed and ruffled his hair with his free hand. Ginny went on.

"Besides, he deserves a good laugh. I was very glad that he broke it off with Lav-lav."

"As was the whole school, I suppose," Harry brought in as they entered the office.

"But especially one bushy-brown-haired girl," she grinned. He grinned back. There was something with that smile that made Ginny happy beyond belief. It was…full of life.

They both tilted the crate up, to put it on the highest shelve in the office. Ginny now only held the crate with her fingertips, while Harry stood really close behind her, holding the rest of the weight.

He smelled nice. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but it was a combination of grass, wood and… well, if it could have a scent… danger…. or courage…

Asked later, she still didn't know how she did it, but the scent made her stumble, fall out of balance, right against him. Harry lost his balance too, and she took him with her in her fall. Before they knew it, Harry and Ginny were lying on the floor.

"Ouch… I'm so sorry. I can be such a klutz. Are you hurt?" she stammered.

"Eh… no..are you?" she noticed that he was very red in the face and tried to look everywhere but at her. She was lying on top of him, which made it very difficult for him not to look at her. She felt herself now blushing too.

When he finally did meet her eyes, Ginny felt a spark and a mental, almost physical punch in the stomach. It couldn't be… after all these years… would she….?

They were both silent for a moment. Was it Ginny's imagination, or did Harry's face come closer?

"Harry, are you there?" Ron opened the door and came in.

They both immediately stood up. Ginny felt her face almost glow from the tomato-red-cheeks she now had and turned around not to see Ron.

"What are you doing?"

"We fell," she replied hastily. She looked at the crate that was balancing on the top shelf. Harry gave another push against it and it finally stood where it belonged.

"Are you ready to go? I really want to take a shower in the castle, and maybe you can tell me how I could improve my double eight loop on the way back."

"Yeah, sure," Harry replied, and he followed Ron out of the room.

Ginny stood there for a few moments, completely dumb-struck for what she was feeling. Again. But was it 'again' or 'still'?

She needed to think.

Ever since her 3rd year, she had on the advice of Hermione, forgotten about Harry. She had turned Michael Corner down at first, but after a talk with Hermione, given in. It hadn't been a happy conversation. Hermione had told her that Harry would never notice her, or at least not after he would have gotten over Cho.

To be honest, it had crept up in more than one conversation. Hermione had already told her numerous times before that Ginny was too shy: she never gave Harry the chance to get to know the real Ginny, other than as the sister of Ron. But it had only been after that last conversation that Ginny had truly given up at Harry.

It had been hard. A stupid crush doesn't go away overnight. Even when she had started to date Michael, she sometimes couldn't help but compare him with Harry. She still thought that it wasn't for nothing that Michael had been dark-haired and about just as tall as the Boy-Who-Lived had been in those days.

However, at one point she had just stopped comparing. Maybe it had been when she had heard from Hermione how happy Harry and Cho were, maybe it had stopped when she had noticed that Harry really was busy with other things on his mind, like the death of Cedric, the death of Sirius and the slow realization that Voldemort just wouldn't be stopped that easily.

Fact was, that after a while she could see beyond the Harry comparisons in Michael, and saw the guy behind it. The guy who really seemed to care a lot for her.

That was, until he had cared more for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and, just like Harry had done before him, for Cho.

Dean had just grown on her. They had remained in close contact after the DA, and after the awful stuff that had happened at the ministry, he had been the one she had hung out with, and eventually kissed with, since everyone else around her was too scarred, too damaged.

_Maybe this was just a fallback_, she thought, while turning around in her bed. A thing she had to go through, since she hadn't been without a boyfriend in almost 2 years. The punch in the stomach had now settled there, in the shape of those cliché butterflies she hadn't felt in a long time.

It was probably just a routine: she would feel something for Harry, than that would be frustrating, those feelings would subdue, and she would find another nice guy. One who actually noticed her.

If she could only stop herself from swooning over him for the upcoming weeks, and not notice how tall he had gotten, how nice his hair was when he flew and how great he looked when he smiled at her, everything would be great.

Except that that stupid scent of Harry was still fresh in her memories. And it was that scent that told her it would be very difficult to not ponder more about her feelings, or him.

She sighed, lit her wand and grabbed a sheet of paper.

Furiously, she started to write.

_Dear Evelyn, _

She had to tell somebody that she had forgotten about him. That she had dated other guys and that frankly, she felt much more comfortable around him than before.

But as she wrote it down on the parchment, she knew that this wasn't the same as the last time. This felt different. Like an old spark, mixed with something new… something deeper…

* * *

_I've decided that since I'm full of positvity about this renewed story of mine, I'm going to post this chapter really soon after the other one. Because I can. And because my former beta (Amy) still had these chapters edited for me, so it doesn't take me much time... :P_

_Wow guys, I've just looked at the reviews page of chapter 82 (you know...the one where I promised we would be done with this story around the time of the DVD release of HBP... and then stopped updating for more than a year and a half) and I made a lot of people mad with anticipation. 79 of them actually let me know how much they missed my story. I'm truly sorry. I hate it myself when an in-progress story suddenly stopped. I hope I can make it up a bit by posting this now... better late than never they say. _

_I especially had to laugh about the ones that suggested I was pregnant (because I hadn't updated in 9 months) or that I was dead. (If I'm dead, writing a rather harsh review wouldn't help much, now would it?) Like I said before: I guess other things in life caught up with me... Rowing, friends, university, travels, boyfriend, good books... and the longer you postphone a project as this, the harder it gets to get back to it, because you have to do twice as much work to get back "in" to it and you have to apologize for not being quicker. _

_But with those two burdens out of the way, I'm going full-pull into the next chapter!_

_But stilll... keep the reviews coming, I'm sure that they will help the motivation once I have to fight - cringing - trough my own English..._

_x-mokimik-x_


	84. About disappointing and leading

_J. Rowling's imagination is the awesome pool I'm just swimming in... _

**84. (About disappointing and leading)**

"A leader is a dealer in hope."

_Napoleon Bonaparte _

But the butterflies didn't go away. They multiplied over the next couple of days. Ginny hated and loved them at the same time. She wanted to make a move on Harry, but something held her back. Though the feeling was deeper and more serious than her crush had ever been, she knew that the feeling that held her back was still the same: insecurity.

With Dean gone, Harry could easily make a move on her, but didn't, and Ginny was clueless as to what stopped him. She was almost sure that he enjoyed her company as much as she did his, but she wasn't _completely_ sure. To her disappointment, Slughorn seemed to have given up the dinner parties, but that didn't mean that there weren't plenty of other times for Harry to make a move on her if he had really wanted to. During normal dinner, during practice, or, as some Mark-bloke had proven, even during the walks from lesson to lesson.

She refused to make a move herself. If something was holding Harry back, he would probably turn her down if she asked him anyway. For now, she preferred a fluttering heart, skipping a beat because she saw him passing by, than a broken one.

She had a feeling that Hermione knew. There were just a bit too many smiles playing around her lips when she sometimes glanced from Harry to Ginny. Ginny was only glad that Hermione wasn't there during trainings. The knowing smiles would have driven her wild, since they were quite appropriate to use during those practices, which were still going pretty well for the team. Even Ron was now convinced they would win the upcoming match.

However, that optimism got cruelly smashed by the Captain himself. On the first Monday of May, a few days before the match, Harry called the team together in the common room, looking devastated. Before he could start explaining his mood, he already got interrupted.

"So it's true what they say? You got yourself detention?" Coote, normally very calm, seemed to be furious.

"Eh.. yes."

Ginny didn't know why that would affect them. Maybe the last practice of upcoming Wednesday had to be re-scheduled? Or did…

"It's on Saturday?" she flapped out. Harry didn't meet her eyes, but nodded, staring at his shoes.

"What did you do to get yourself banned from the most important game of the season? Are you insane?" Katie now asked. The rest of them remained quiet. If Ginny had to describe the silence, it would be the ones you have at funerals.

"I used an illegal hex on Malfoy, without knowing what it would do. Snape caught me. If he didn't, Malfoy would probably have-" Overcome with guilt, Harry's voice died out. She remembered how Ron and Hermione had been right. Harry was really obsessed with Malfoy. She felt blank. That was it. All the hard work they had put into it was now smashed. They wouldn't win without their Seeker.

"And now?" Ron asked.

"You'll have to play without me. Ginny, you'll be Seeker and Captain, since you were on all the other games this year and have the most experience. I will ask Dean to take his place as a Chaser again. I know you can still do this. I have seen you fly the last months and I know you guys have never been better." Ginny doubted if he even convinced himself with those words.

"Harry Potter?" McGonagall was standing in the Portrait hole, looking furious. Without saying anything else, Harry drooped over to her.

"Are you telling me," said Hermione, "that you're going to go back-?" Ginny felt her anger rise as Hermione was reprimanding Harry for the Prince's curse. He had just told the three of them in more detail what had happened, but all Hermione seemed to be focused on, was that she had been right about that stupid book.

"And get the book? Yeah, I am. Listen, without the Prince I'd never have won the Felix Felicis. I'd never have known how to save Ron from poisoning, I'd never have-"

"- got a reputation for Potions brilliance you don't deserve," Hermione interrupted.

"Give it a rest, Hermione!" Ginny heard herself snap and she diverted her eyes from Harry to Hermione. Didn't the girl see that her friend was really sorry about it? "By the sound of it, Malfoy was trying to use an Unforgivable Curse, you should be glad Harry had something good up his sleeve!"

"Well, of course I'm glad Harry wasn't cursed! But you can't call that Sectumsempra spell good, Ginny, look where it's landed him! And I'd have thought, seeing what this has done to your chances in the match-" Thinking back to their Quidditch position now, stung.

"Oh, don't start acting as though you understand Quidditch, you'll only embarrass yourself," she blew up. She saw that Hermione looked a bit hurt, but was also angry. She saw in the corner of her eyes that Harry had a tiny, grateful smile around his lips and that he was looking at her. Her stomach did a back flip. Ginny felt that she didn't mind that she had upset Hermione. Even if she didn't like Harry at this moment more than just a friend, she was sure that she would still have chosen his side.

As expected, Harry couldn't bear to see the team practice before the match anymore, which meant that she was already in charge during the upcoming training. Giving an older girl, your ex-boyfriend and your brother orders would probably be highly uncomfortable and she actually felt quite nervous that Wednesday.

When she met Harry in the corridor, she couldn't help but discuss it with him. Ron had run of towards the bathrooms to throw up again, and Harry was waiting for him outside.

"Are you sure that you can't lead us for the last practice?" She saw that while they talked, everyone around them threw angry glances at Harry.

"I don't think that is such a good idea. I will only feel guiltier for not being there upcoming Saturday. I'm sure you'll be great as a captain and I already saw you being great as a Seeker last summer, so there's no doubt in that." Even though he hadn't given her real advice, only saying that he was sure of her, Ginny couldn't have been helped more and tried to tell herself that the squirming feeling in her stomach was only because she was hungry.

"You know what? I'll let you lend my Firebolt. Then you at least have the advantage of speed!" But Ginny shook her head.

"That's not necessary. I'm quite attached to my Cleansweep 5 I got from Fred. Better give it to Ron. Maybe it'll boost up his confidence." She jerked her head, motioning towards the boys' bathroom. Harry nodded at the same time that a retching sound could be heard.

"Has Snape already told you what you have to do?"

"No, but knowing Snape, it will be nasty and I won't be able to see a bit of the match." He sighed. She wanted to console him (and with consoling, she meant kissing) but by then, Ron walked out, looking green and they walked on to Transfiguration.

"Okay everyone, this is what we are going to do," she started her practice. "We are going to fly. And we're going to pretend that nothing has happened. Even though one of us was stupid enough to find himself unable to fly Saturday, that doesn't mean we have all lost the ability to fly. We can still win. Katie, Demelza, Dean, I've seen you all fly and I'm sure you are all better in teamwork than myself. So that's even an advantage, as I will now have the individual task to Seek. Ron, you are flying even better lately than during your last match last year. You have to prove to Gryffindor that you can Keep this year's last match just as well, or better. You can do that. Easily. Not only because you now have a Firebolt, but because you've improved over this last year. "

"Jimmy, Ritchie, my twin-brothers would be proud of you. That's the highest compliment I can give. They are rarely proud of anyone besides themselves, but as Beaters, you would give them a run for their money," she finished. She had a huge grin on her face, and found that she was actually looking forward to this practice, knowing that none of them would disappoint her.

"Now, let's fly!"

* * *

_Thanks for all the kind reviews on the last few chapters... I hope you liked this chapter as well. :-)_

_Reviews are the chocalate-part of chocolate-chip-cookies..._

_x-mokimik_


	85. About fussing and admitting

**85****. (About fussing and admitting)**

"I believe one of the hardest things you can do is conquer your fears, but if you have a goal, then it's your job to open up and let it be real no matter how scary it seems."

_Unknown_

"Ginny!" Hermione called Ginny over to her as she came back from practice that Wednesday. They hadn't talked since Ginny had snapped at her last Monday, but Hermione wasn't angry anymore. Though she had been proved right that that stupid book had been dangerous, she should've kept her mouth shut about it at the time. Harry had been punished enough. Not only by Snape and McGonagall, but the Gryffindors themselves weren't going easy on him either. She couldn't help but suspect that Ron, Ginny and herself might be the only ones speaking to him. To avoid all the stares he got these days, Harry had even thrown his Invisibility Cloak over himself when he was in the common room. She felt a bit uneasy about the fact that it now looked as if she was alone (Ron was still not back from practice) but put that unease to one side when she thought back to the murderous look in the eyes of a seventh year directed towards Harry last afternoon.

"Hi Hermione. Listen-" Ginny wanted to apologize, but she shook her head.

"Forget it. You were right, I was rambling too much. Harry felt guilty enough. But how did the practice go?"

"Good!" Ginny sat down next to her. She told Hermione about the saves Ron made, about how everyone seemed to follow her orders, how it had been a bit weird for her to comment on Dean's performance, but how he had said nothing and had just flown really well. Hermione couldn't help but glance over at the invisible Harry next to her at that last comment, but he didn't make a sound. Even if she hadn't made the comment about Dean just now, Hermione was sure Harry was more interested in what Ginny had to say than she herself was. After all, it was Quidditch.

"I'm glad," she replied. "Still nervous about the game?" She saw that Ginny was eyeing the empty chair curiously now Hermione had looked at it.

"A bit." Hermione could tell Ginny was lying; she appeared more than a bit nervous.

"I guess that's only natural, right?"

"Yeah," Ginny replied, though her voice wasn't very steady.

"Well, if you need my help, just let me know!" Ginny glanced bemusedly, but then smiled.

"What I need now, is a warm bed. I'm really tired, so goodnight."

"Night."

Harry lifted the Cloak a bit as soon as Ginny had left, showing his face to Hermione.

"I'm going to bed too," he stated in a hoarse voice. He looked miserable.

Almost immediately after Harry had gone upstairs, the portrait hole opened and Ron walked in.

"Hi Hermione, hi Harry," he said to the empty chair and then sat on the couch next to Hermione.

She giggled. "He already went upstairs."

"Oh," Ron started to laugh. "Then that must've looked pretty stupid."

"Only a bit. How was practice?" her stomach gave a lurch as she saw how his whole face lit up.

"Far better than expected. Ginny is actually pretty good as a Captain. Must've learned a lot from Harry."

"And you? Still nervous?"

"A bit." She eyed him sternly and he admitted: "Okay, a lot."

"You are going to do just fine. Just keep your head cool. I spoke to Ginny when she came back and she thought you were great."

"She did?" Hermione heard how pleased Ron sounded.

"You are going to do just fine," she repeated and looked into his eyes. He nodded, a bit unsure.

Hermione stifled a yawn. "I'm going to bed." Then, without thinking, she planted a kiss on his cheek and stood up.

"What was that for?" he asked in a soft voice.

"For good luck. I don't think you need Felix Felicis to fly as well as you usually do."

The following lunchtime she found herself in the library with Ginny. Whilst the red-head searched for a book on her list, Hermione went through the enormous stack of old newspapers, in her vain hope to find something useful about the Prince. Even though the Prince had already proven her right, she was only more curious about his or her identity.

Behind a shelf she could hear some Ravenclaws. They were discussing the upcoming match and Hermione noticed how Ginny stiffened as they went on.

"I heard he just wanted to replace himself so he didn't have to play against Cho Chang."

"Did he want to get out of the match because she's a good Seeker or because she's his ex-girlfriend?"

"Ooh, I almost forgot! They went out, didn't they?"

"Yes, but not for very long. I heard he now fancies Romilda Vane."

"But wait- that girl that's now substituting for him, the Weasley…"

"Yes, what about her?"

"Didn't she have a huge crush on him?"

"Was that her? Well, then Cho will be no match for her. If Potter chose Cho over her, she must already be very insecure to play against our team."

"It must be so sad to lose a guy and a match to the same girl..."

Hermione threw a glance at Ginny, expecting to see anger and a drawn wand. However, she hadn't seen the girl looking so scared in a long time and it reminded her of Ron. Without saying anything, Ginny stood up and left the library. Hermione tried to follow her, but by the time she had left the library, Ginny had already disappeared.

"Hermione," she heard someone whisper next to her ear. Slowly, she opened her eyes and noticed her surroundings. It was still dark in her bedroom, probably just a few hours after midnight. Who would wake her up?

"Ginny..?"

"I need your help with Quidditch. I'm no match for Cho. She's far too pretty and clever and talented. Harry will like her more, just like he did before." The girl seemed even more panicked then when she had left the library.

"Ginny, where have you been?" she replied sleepily.

"I mean, those girls were right; I am pathetic. To think that he likes me back: as if I haven't learnt anything at all these past few years…I'm so stupid! You'd think I'd learnt by now!"

It took some time before Ginny's words sunk in. Then Hermione slowly replied: "Ginny…None of those arguments have got anything to do with Quidditch."

There was a brief silence.

"I know," Ginny whispered almost inaudibly. In the moonlight, her eyes seemed big and Hermione was sure that Ginny was just as panicked as she herself had been about her parents after Christmas. However, Ginny's panic was about a whole other subject. Hermione lit her wand.

"Do you mean that you like Harry back?"

In the light, she saw that Ginny gave half a nod before her head shot up again. "What do you mean, "back"?"

Hermione sighed. She shouldn't have had such a big mouth. However, she had hoped that Ginny would have figured it out herself by now. She sat upright, pulled Ginny on her mattress and closed the curtains of her poster-bed. "I've cast the imperturbable charm on the curtains. The others won't hear a thing," she explained, motioning to the invisible sleeping bodies of Lavender and the others. "Ginny, I thought by the way you looked at him, that you had finally noticed!"

"Noticed what?"

"Remember that he was acting so weird according to you, but that nobody else noticed?" she stated. She saw Ginny's eyes widen even more with understanding. And something else. Happiness.

"Oh… but then… but how…But… Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because last time you told Ron forcefully to do something about his love life and leave yours alone, it didn't turn out too good, did it? And I was the one who had told you to forget him in the first place. Which you did. I didn't want to upset you, or be responsible for a break-up with Dean," she replied truthfully.

"How long have you known?"

"Since Valentine's…"

Ginny groaned. "This explains so much… and the whole time I was there… kissing someone under his nose!"

"I'm really sorry I didn't say anything… But if I can help now…."

For a moment, Ginny was silent and stared into nothingness. Hermione was glad to see that Ginny looked confident again. The panic was completely gone.

"I could use some help with Quidditch," Ginny finally said. "I'm still not sure if I'm ready to Seek on Saturday. Harry sometimes practiced with kolf balls. People threw them in the air, and he would catch them."

Hermione immediately understood. "You mean 'Golf balls'. I have some time during lunch. Want to practice then?"

"You're really good, Ginny!" Hermione yelled as she had made a spectacular dive to catch three balls with one hand. She landed and Hermione ran over with the basket of golf balls in her left hand.

"Thanks! I'm not feeling any doubt whatsoever anymore!" Ginny beamed widely and looked around, as if searching for someone.

"Harry's not here. He had to finish a potions essay in the library." She saw that the already wind-swept cheeks became a bit redder.

She heard Ginny ask softly: "If you say he liked me for that long, then why hasn't he made a move on me now I've broken up with Dean?"

Hermione had thought about that a lot herself, but still wasn't sure. Ginny looked pensive too, but her face suddenly changed to a determined one and she stepped on her broom.

"Well, whatever's holding him back has to disappear quickly. I think I can say I've waited long enough for him!"

* * *

_Next stop: That o-so-famous-quidditchmatch. Thanks to Amy and all of you who've reviewed! Let me know what you think about this chapter as well! _

_x-mokimik-x_


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